SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir students have continued to benefit from government-backed education loan schemes, with more than 2,000 students receiving credit guarantees and subsidies under various initiatives aimed at easing access to higher education.
The Government of India, through its Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Yojana (PM-USP) Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loan (CGFSEL) and the Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme (CSIS), has been supporting students across the country, including those in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Ministry of Education, under the PM-USP CGFSEL scheme, a total of 2,053 students from Jammu and Kashmir have been provided credit guarantees on education loans from 2020 to 2024. The credit guarantee fund, which covers 75 per cent of the outstanding default for loans up to Rs 7.50 lakh, had an approved corpus of Rs 3,500 crore, with over Rs 3,019 crore still available as of December 31, 2024.
The data, sourced from the Government of India’s Ministry of Education, reveals that Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an increase in education loan beneficiaries in recent years. In 2024 alone, 329 female and 548 male students from the region were issued credit guarantees under the scheme. This reflects a steady rise in the number of students availing government-backed financial assistance for higher education.
Additionally, under the Pradhan Mantri-Uchchatar Shiksha Protsahan Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme (PM-USP CSIS), 2,143 students from Jammu and Kashmir received interest subsidies on their education loans during the 2023-24 financial year. The total amount claimed for interest subsidies in Jammu and Kashmir for this period was Rs 2.66 crore. Ladakh, the Union Territory carved out from Jammu and Kashmir, also saw eight students benefiting from this scheme.
The government had allocated a final grant of Rs 693 crore for the PM-USP CSIS and CGFSEL schemes for the year 2023-24. While the broader education expenditure of the central and state governments exceeded 4 per cent of the GDP in recent years, concerns persist about meeting the Incheon Declaration’s recommended target of 4 to 6 per cent.
The National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Ltd (NCGTC), which manages the credit guarantee fund, has reported that as of December 2024, over 11.26 lakh credit guarantees have been issued nationwide since the scheme’s inception, with a non-performing asset (NPA) rate of 4.5 per cent. This indicates that a vast majority of students are repaying their loans successfully.
Monitoring mechanisms have been put in place, with quarterly reports prepared to track the number of credit guarantees issued and NPAs reported under the scheme. These reports are analysed to ensure that funds are adequate to support students seeking higher education loans.
With over 2,000 students from Jammu and Kashmir benefiting from these schemes, the government’s efforts to improve access to higher education through financial assistance continue to show results. However, with growing demands for increased education spending, stakeholders are urging the government to secure at least 4 per cent of the GDP as budgetary allocation for education in the coming years.
