Studying abroad is a dream of aspiring students for quality education and a better life. However, financing overseas education is a tough task to execute. There are certain schemes offered by banks in coordination with the government of India. Vidya Lakshmi Portal is one such initiative by the government to fulfil the dreams of aspiring students to study abroad. The portal provides a platform with 40 registered banks to Indian students aspiring to pursue higher studies abroad. In this blog, we will explore the necessary steps, terms, and conditions to avail Indian Bank Education Loan from Vidya Lakshmi Portal.
Table of contents
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria to apply for an Indian bank education loan include
- Students should be 18 years of age.
- He/She should be an Indian national.
- He/She should have secured admission to a recognized university or institution.
Documents Required
To apply for an Indian Bank education loan, you need to submit a set of the following documents. Below mentioned is the list of documents required to initiate the application process.
- PAN Card
- Aadhar card
- Voter’s ID/Passport/Driving License for Identification.
- Telephone Bill / Electricity Bill for residential proof.
- A valid Passport & VISA.
- Academic documents from Xth standard to highest education.
- State Government-approved income certificate.
- Community certificate.
- Bank statement of last 6 months.
- Assets and liabilities statement of co-applicant and guarantor.
- Sources of funds to repay the amount of the loan.
- LOA from a recognized university abroad.
- Details of Collaterals.
- A duly filled completed application form.
Expenses Covered
The amount of the loan and the expenses covered vary as per the loan program you have chosen. Below mentioned is the list of basic expenses covered under almost all the loan programs.
- Tuition fee
- Hostel fee
- Lodging and boarding charges
- Travel expenses
- Passage money and living expenses
- Insurance premium
- Any deposit or refundable funds
- Books and Uniforms
- Laptop, if required for completion of the course
- Study tours and Project work
- Academic & maintenance fee, if required
Also Read: Vidya Lakshmi Education Loan Documents Required
Registration on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal
The first and foremost thing to initiate the loan process with Vidya Lakshmi is to register yourself on the portal. Below are the steps to register on the portal to initiate the loan process.
- Navigate to the home page of the portal
- Create a username and password.
- Confirm the email address with the help of the registration email received on your email ID.
- Enter your required details and log in.
- Select the ‘student login’ option on the login screen.
- The login session will be for a duration of 10 minutes only.
Select Appropriate Loan Program
The next step is to check out the loan programs and choose the suitable option. While choosing the option you should consider the credit amount, interest rate, moratorium period, and details. The steps include selecting an appropriate loan program offered by the Indian Bank, follow the following steps.
- Navigate to the ‘search and apply for loan scheme’ tab and apply a filter for Indian Bank.
- Also select your nation, course, and amount of the loan on the left side of the page.
- You can select your loan program according to your eligibility criteria and requirements.
- You just need to click on the name of the loan program mentioned and it will navigate you to the detailed page of the education loans offered by Indian Bank.
- Go through the details of the program offered and choose the suitable option for yourself.
Apply for the Selected Loan Program
After making a decision on the loan programs offered by the Indian Bank, you can proceed further with an appropriate program. Follow the below-mentioned steps to apply for an education loan on the Vidya Lakshmi Portal.
- Choose the appropriate loan program offered by the Indian Bank.
- Apply for the loan program you have chosen to proceed with by clicking on the ‘Apply Now’ tab.
- It will navigate you to the page where you have to fill in all the required details.
- Fill the CELAF completely and accurately.
- Now you can check the status and track the application you submitted.
- Be sure to select the correct branch, as it can’t be changed after submitting an application.
- That’s all, you can track your application now.
Also Read: Vidya Lakshmi Education Loan Interest Rate
Repayment of Education Loan
The repayment of an education loan is a critical thing that needs to be planned before applying for the loan process. Generally, all the registered banks on the Vidya Lakshmi portal offer a moratorium period which means the repayment period starts after the completion of the course. The repayment period of an education loan is mentioned below.
- For the loan amount up to Rs.7.50 lac, a maximum of 120 instalments.
- For the loan amount above Rs.7.50 lac, a maximum of 180 instalments
- to 12 months after course completion or 6 months after commencement of job whichever is earlier.
- Simple interest is charged during the study period.
- Pre-closure charges are waived in cases where payment is made from own source of funds.
Tax Benefits on an Education Loan
The best part is a student can enjoy tax benefits provided by the government of India. Under Section 80E of the Income Tax Act, any Indian citizen who is availing education loan can enjoy the benefit of tax exemption on the amount of interest of an educational loan. An individual claiming a deduction needs to submit a certificate from the financial institution. Also note that, under section 80E, no tax exemption is provided on the principal amount of an education loan. The deductions can be claimed when an individual starts paying the amount of interest. It can be claimed only for 8 years.
Also Read: Vidya Lakshmi Education Loan From SBI
FAQs
Apart from the UG, PG, and scholar programs, you can avail loans for vocational programs as well.
You can apply for a maximum of three different loan applications at a time.
Under section 80E an individual can claim loan exemption in an educational loan. It can be claimed for a maximum of 8 years.
The details mentioned above are based on the data provided by the bank website and Vidya Lakshmi portal. To avail an education loan, make sure to check all the related details with your bank as it may vary with the changing time.
To know more about an education loan, the best international bank accounts for students, forex and banking experience for global students, or international money transfers, reach out to our experts at 1800572126 to help ease your study abroad experience. Follow our social media handles on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
