Patna: The state government under the chairmanship of chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh on Thursday signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 12 banks for the ambitious student credit card scheme which will be launched by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on October 2.
The scheme, which is aimed at providing hassle-free education loan of up to Rs 4 lakh to students pursuing higher education (graduation and above), is expected to benefit more than five lakh students over the period of next five years.
Sources said interested students are required to register themselves with District Registration and Counselling Centre (DRCC) set up in all 38 districts. Following the registration and submission of application for loan, the DRCC would do the necessary verification and forward it to the banks.
The loan amount would be provided to the beneficiary students within a month of submission of application. Details about the scheme are available on the website of education department – www.educationbihar.gov.in
Though 39 banks were expected to sign the MoU, the government officials said only 12 banks turned up to complete the formalities. “We have received consent from all 39 banks and expect that the remaining banks would complete the MoU formalities within a day or two,” said R K Mahajan, principal secretary of education department.
The banks which signed the MoU included State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Uco Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Indian Bank, IDBI, Axis Bank, HDFC, Bihar Gramin Bank and Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank.
Sharing details about the nature of collaboration with the banks for the scheme, Mahajan said, “The state government would act as a guarantor and banks would provide the loan based on support from DRCC. The DRCC would complete the necessary verification formalities, so that banks could clear the loan without much delay. The aspiring students would be able to fill the application form online and visit the respective DRCC and bank only once.”
Mahajan added that the maximum loan amount of Rs 4 lakh would cover admission fee, hostel accommodation, expenses on books and other miscellaneous expenses.
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