Himachal Pradesh government has launched Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Yojna to give educational loans to students unable to pursue higher and professional studies due to lack of resources.
Under the scheme, starting from the current financial year, the eligible students would be given loans on a nominal interest of one percent belonging to families having income of less than Rs. 3 lakh per annum.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “The state government has proposed to allocate Rs 200 core through banks and other financial institutions for giving loans to students for meeting their expense of tuition fee, boarding and lodging charges, for buying books and other expenses related to studies”.
The student loans would be given for pursuing professional courses in engineering, medical, management and other courses like Polytechnics, B. Pharmacy, Nursing, General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) etc.
The Chief Minister said “The nominal rate of interest would be charged just to instil a sense of responsibility and motivate them; it is our resolve to provide equal opportunities of higher study to every student,” he added.
He said, “People of the State would witness radical changes in the education sector as several schemes are being launched to benefit students, nearly 20000 girl students above the age of 18 studying in government institutions would be given a subsidy of Rs 25000 for buying electric scooters to reach their institutions”.