Mamata Banerjee launches ‘Student Credit Card’ that offers educational loan up to Rs 10 lakh | West Bengal News
Calcutta: West Bengal Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee launched the Student Credit Card on Wednesday – a unique initiative that offers students low-interest loans of up to Rs 10 lakh for educational purposes.
Through this credit card initiative, students can take out a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh at a simple annual interest rate.
“I am pleased to announce that GoWB is the Student credit card today. To make the youth of Bengal self-employed, the program provides a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh with an annual simple interest rate, ”said the Chief Minister during the introduction.
I am pleased to announce that GoWB introduced the #StudentCreditCard today.
To help the youth of Bengal become self-employed, the program provides a loan of up to ₹ 10 lakh with an annual simple interest rate. (1/2)
– Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 30, 2021
She added that the program will benefit all resident students West Bengal who are enrolled at universities and examination centers. “The Bengali government is working tirelessly to keep all the promises made by my 10 Ongikars,” said CM Mamata.
The Prime Minister started the program from the State Secretariat in virtual mode, all education departments and all district administrators were present at the introduction in virtual mode.
To further encourage students from West Bengal to pursue higher education, the state government has launched one of the most comprehensive and inclusive programs in the country “Student credit card” to enable them to take out security free loans up to Rs 10 lakh at a very low annual single rate with a repayment period of 15 years, a senior government official with the Department of Education had previously said.
“The program covers education from madhyamik level to professional courses, including doctoral / postdoctoral research at recognized educational institutions inside or outside the country,” the official said.
Not only will this be extended to students who have made it to world-class institutes, but the loan will also be available to support students looking to prepare for top jobs in central and state government such as UPSC and PSC.
“The educational loan is also extended for the students studying at various competitive coaching institutes to appear at IITS / IMs / NLUS / IAS / IPS / WBCS or other competitive exams. It covers various institutional / non-institutional expenses to ensure that no West Bengal student is withheld from education due to lack of funding, “he added.
Earlier, after the Cabinet approved the project, the Prime Minister said: “This was on our election manifesto and it is our main program, like Kanyashree and Sabujshree, to support the students financially. We want them to fulfill their dreams. A student can obtain a low interest loan of up to Rs 10 lakh with the help of a credit card to take up higher studies with the help of a credit card. A student up to the age of 40 can apply for a loan. A student has fifteen years to repay the loan after employment. The interest rate would be low so that the student can easily repay the loan.
The government of West Bengal has taken several initiatives such as the free distribution of school bags, shoes, uniforms, books, bicycles, scholarships such as Swami Vivekananda Earnings-With-Funds, Kanyashree, which has increased budgeted expenditures 9 times over the last 10 years, to care for a diverse growth of the education sector in the country.