By the year end,
As per the figures released at the two-day State Level Bankers Committee meeting which ended on Tuesday, 12,958 education loans to the tune of Rs.4.95 billion ($110 million) were sanctioned during the period under review, which is up from 4,132 loans worth Rs.983.4 million for the year ended June 30, 2007.
While the banks distributed 20,085 loans to tune of Rs.2.64 billion last year as compared to 5,383 loans worth Rs.573 million in the previous year.
According to the report 75 percent of the total applications for education loans came from Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts, and loans were taken for pursuing nursing courses in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The education loans have been categorized into two slabs. Loans up to Rs.400,000 do not require any collateral security and the interest rate is 13 percent for studies within the country and 13.5 percent for studies abroad.
Whereas loans above Rs.400,000 require collateral security and have an interest rate of 13.5 percent for studies within the country and 14 percent for studies abroad.
When bank approves the loan, the fees are directly sent to the institution as required by them.
The repayment of the principal amount starts after one year of completion of the course or six months after getting a job, whichever is earlier.
Kerala-based State Bank of Travancore (SBT), which distributed 3,673 loans valued at Rs.800 million, had lead from the front. By the year ended June 2007, the bank has distributed 1,636 loans worth Rs.148.8 million.
