S K Sharma, Adviser, Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), New Delhi, speaking at a conference on Shalya, Shalakya and Prasooti Tantra at “Soushruthi 2007”, organised by the SDM College of Ayurveda, as part of its golden jubilee celebrations, informed government is going to provide a loan of Rs 2 crore to private Ayurveda colleges which intend to upgrade their infrastructure.
Sharma said to take a loan there is one condition that the institution should put in an equal amount. The repayment period for the loan is five years.
He informed that the department has selected SDM College under its quality improvement program. Under this program the college would be given Rs 5 crore to upgrade its facilities. The money would be provided during the 11th Plan period. Sharma said the Government will be starting an All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, The cost will come around Rs 250 crore. He further informed that the land for the proposed AIIA had been purchased and construction would start shortly..
On this occasion a souvenir was released by Jayaprakash Narayan, vice-president of Central Council for Indian Medicines (CCIM), New Delhi. S S Badrinath, founder of Shankar Netralaya, Chennai, inaugurated the Sri Dharmastala Mathrushri Ratnamma Memorial Golden Jubilee Building. MLC V S Acharya inaugurated the Bhava Prakasha Auditorium.Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) P S Prabhakaran inaugurated the three-day conference. Vice-president of SDM Education Society S Prabhakar inaugurated the golden jubilee celebrations of the college.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
India to set Higher Education Loan Guarantee Authority to help needy students to take education loan
Government is formulating policies to help students from middle class by providing education loan so that they can take up professional studies which they cannot afford due to higher fees. Following this India is to set up a Higher Education Loan Guarantee Authority (HELGA) which will make it easier for needy students to secure bank loans for education and also pay the interest till they complete their course.
At present the interest of the loan is added to the principal amount and thus the compound interest puts a lot of burden on students.
The mega plan, worked out by the Planning Commission and the human resource development ministry, will be helpful for the students with annual family income of Rs.250,000 or less to avail of the loan.
"Every year, banks are providing study loans worth Rs.150 billion. We are setting up a Higher Education Loan Guarantee Authority to help needy students cross the hurdle," said a Planning Commission member who is closely associated with the project.
The authority will have a permission to pay the interest incurred due to the study loan till the candidate completes the course. The member said the government will bear the burden of Rs.6.5 billion annually.
The scheme is for both postgraduate and undergraduate students studying in institutes which have been recognized by the University Grant Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India.
"Depending on their requirement, they will get loans up to Rs 1.5 million from banks. We are also planning that students should not pay huge collaterals, as is the norm now, to avail loan from banks," he said.
The official said discussion is going on between the ministry officials and our members to implement the scheme from the coming academic year.
At present the interest of the loan is added to the principal amount and thus the compound interest puts a lot of burden on students.
The mega plan, worked out by the Planning Commission and the human resource development ministry, will be helpful for the students with annual family income of Rs.250,000 or less to avail of the loan.
"Every year, banks are providing study loans worth Rs.150 billion. We are setting up a Higher Education Loan Guarantee Authority to help needy students cross the hurdle," said a Planning Commission member who is closely associated with the project.
The authority will have a permission to pay the interest incurred due to the study loan till the candidate completes the course. The member said the government will bear the burden of Rs.6.5 billion annually.
The scheme is for both postgraduate and undergraduate students studying in institutes which have been recognized by the University Grant Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India.
"Depending on their requirement, they will get loans up to Rs 1.5 million from banks. We are also planning that students should not pay huge collaterals, as is the norm now, to avail loan from banks," he said.
The official said discussion is going on between the ministry officials and our members to implement the scheme from the coming academic year.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Good news for middle class students can take loan easily
A plan of Rs 4,000-crore has been worked out which will enable the government to take over the interest burden on education loans during the 'moratorium period' — the time when students are pursuing academics and have not yet begun earning. This will help the modest middle class homes to bear the financing cost needed for professional courses as it will become cheaper for these students.
As things stand, education loans come with a clause that allows students not to pay interest during their academic life. The interest for this period is added to the principal and payments begin once the student starts working.
But now, according to a mega scheme formulated by the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister's Office and the ministry for human resource development, the government will take over the interest burden for the moratorium period — estimated at around Rs 650 crore a year, assuming that five lakh students from families earning Rs 2.5 lakh a year or less avail of the loans. To take the benefit of this scheme, the student's household income must not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. The scheme will be open for professional and technical courses at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels. This scheme will free students from education loan rates being changed during their study period and by the time they start earning.
This means students from families with monthly income of around Rs 20,000 or less would get an interest waiver while they pursue medicine, engineering, architecture, management or other such courses recognized by the Medical Council of India, University Grants Commission or All India Council for Technical Education, among others.
The scheme will cost the government a total of about Rs 4,000 crore for the 11th Plan period. The government, is planning to implement the scheme from the 2008 academic session, also wants to restrict the waiver benefit to one loan per student.
But this scheme is not for PG courses. If you plan to borrow to complete your graduation, don't expect a similar helping hand from the government.
Bankers see a positive side of this. Bankers are a view point of this that the move would also encourage many of them to lend more freely. In the absence of any clarity on when a borrower starts working, bankers often shy away from extending education loans. Some of them even insist on collateral though the government has repeatedly maintained that the practice is virtually non-existent now.
As things stand, education loans come with a clause that allows students not to pay interest during their academic life. The interest for this period is added to the principal and payments begin once the student starts working.
But now, according to a mega scheme formulated by the Planning Commission, the Prime Minister's Office and the ministry for human resource development, the government will take over the interest burden for the moratorium period — estimated at around Rs 650 crore a year, assuming that five lakh students from families earning Rs 2.5 lakh a year or less avail of the loans. To take the benefit of this scheme, the student's household income must not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. The scheme will be open for professional and technical courses at the undergraduate or postgraduate levels. This scheme will free students from education loan rates being changed during their study period and by the time they start earning.
This means students from families with monthly income of around Rs 20,000 or less would get an interest waiver while they pursue medicine, engineering, architecture, management or other such courses recognized by the Medical Council of India, University Grants Commission or All India Council for Technical Education, among others.
The scheme will cost the government a total of about Rs 4,000 crore for the 11th Plan period. The government, is planning to implement the scheme from the 2008 academic session, also wants to restrict the waiver benefit to one loan per student.
But this scheme is not for PG courses. If you plan to borrow to complete your graduation, don't expect a similar helping hand from the government.
Bankers see a positive side of this. Bankers are a view point of this that the move would also encourage many of them to lend more freely. In the absence of any clarity on when a borrower starts working, bankers often shy away from extending education loans. Some of them even insist on collateral though the government has repeatedly maintained that the practice is virtually non-existent now.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Banks should relax norms of education loans to help economically weaker section students for higher education
Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the branch of the Vijaya Bank on the premises of the Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Kurumbapet the Chief Minister N. Rangasamy urged the banks should relax norms for distribution of education loans in order to provide opportunities to the students belonging to the economically weaker sections to pursue higher education.
He said, the banks should adhere to the directives of the Union Finance Ministry not to insist on collateral security to sanction education loans.
The Chief Minister also asked the banks in the Union Territory to assist Self-Help groups (SHGs) to expand. He wanted that the SHG’s should focus their attention on dairy development as there is tremendous scope for growth of the sector.
Mr. Rangasamy said that there is a wide gap in the supply and demand for milk and the SHGs should benefit out of the situation by setting up dairy units.
Executive Director of Vijaya Bank T. Valliappan said the bank should start program to train unemployed youth in Puducherry to take up self-employment ventures. After the training, a written test should be conducted. Successful candidates should be given loans to start these ventures, he said, adding that the program was widely welcomed by the youth in Karnataka.
He informed that by the end of the month, the bank will have 1,000 branches across the country. He said the new branch at the Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences would have core banking facility.
He said, the banks should adhere to the directives of the Union Finance Ministry not to insist on collateral security to sanction education loans.
The Chief Minister also asked the banks in the Union Territory to assist Self-Help groups (SHGs) to expand. He wanted that the SHG’s should focus their attention on dairy development as there is tremendous scope for growth of the sector.
Mr. Rangasamy said that there is a wide gap in the supply and demand for milk and the SHGs should benefit out of the situation by setting up dairy units.
Executive Director of Vijaya Bank T. Valliappan said the bank should start program to train unemployed youth in Puducherry to take up self-employment ventures. After the training, a written test should be conducted. Successful candidates should be given loans to start these ventures, he said, adding that the program was widely welcomed by the youth in Karnataka.
He informed that by the end of the month, the bank will have 1,000 branches across the country. He said the new branch at the Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences would have core banking facility.
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