BHUBANESWAR: The Higher Education department has decided to raise the loan amount and income ceiling of parents under its education loan (interest subvention) scheme Kalinga Sikhya Sathi Yojana.
Under the scheme, launched in 2016-17, students have been availing educational loans amounting to Rs 10 lakh at 1 per cent interest per annum. While the repayment period was restricted to 15 years including the moratorium period, the scheme was applicable to students whose parents’ income did not exceed Rs 6 lakh per annum.
The department at its standing finance committee meeting has decided to revamp the scheme from the 2023-24 academic session to help more students benefit from it. Accordingly, the maximum ceiling of the loan amount will be hiked from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. Besides, the annual income ceiling of parents will be increased to Rs 8 lakh from Rs 6 lakh. This will not just cover students studying in the state but also students from Odisha who have availed educational loan for pursuing higher studies abroad.
While the revamped scheme will be applicable from the current academic session, the existing students who have availed the interest subvention under the scheme will be excluded from it, officials said. the scheme will be reviewed after three years.
While the revamp, official sources said, may tentatively cost the government Rs 25 crore for five years (based on the previous years’ demand), commissioner-cum-secretary of the department Aravind Agarwal said the annual financial implication may stand over Rs 7 crore per year based on the revised criteria.