West Bengal’s student credit card scheme

• The West Bengal government launched Student Credit Card today.
• With the help of the credit card, a student can get a soft loan of up to ₹10 lakh to pursue higher studies.

About Student Credit Card scheme:

• The credit card scheme was approved by the West Bengal Cabinet on Tuesday.
• Under the scheme, students will be provided a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh with an annual simple interest.
• The scheme will benefit all students residing in West Bengal who are enrolled in Higher Educational Institutions & Competitive Examinations Coaching Centres.
• Anyone who has spent 10 years in West Bengal can avail the benefits of it. Loan will be available for undergraduate, postgraduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral study in India or abroad

• Students can take a loan of up to Rs 10 lakh to pursue higher education. A simple annual interest will be levied on the loan amount. The loan will be extended to students studying in various coaching institutes and it will cover the institutional or non-institutional expenses under the various heads.

• Students preparing to appear in national-level competitive exams, including for IITs, IIMs, NLUs, IAS, IPS, and WBPS, can also apply for an education loan under this scheme.

• Students will be given time up to 15 years to repay the loan.

• The purpose of this scheme is to ensure that no student is deprived of education on financial grounds. It also seeks to empower the youth of the state and make them more self-reliant.

What is the eligibility criteria for scheme?

• All students from West Bengal, who are below the age of 40
• An individual needs to have lived for at least 10 years in the state.
• Also, the money being taken on loan should only be used for educational purposes.
• Students can take loans under this scheme from any bank — government-run or private — or even cooperative organisations.
• No guarantor is needed and the state will stand guarantee for loans taken under this scheme.