Bhubaneswar, Sept 30: The Higher Education department has raised the education loan amount and income ceiling of parents under its Kalinga Sikhya Sathi Yojana.
The Odisha government had launched the scheme in 2016-17. Students have been availing educational loans amounting to Rs 10 lakh at 1 per cent interest per annum with a repayment period of 15 years including the moratorium period. The scheme was applicable to students whose parents’ income cap was under Rs 6 lakh per annum.
The department at its standing finance committee meeting decided to revamp the scheme from this academic session.
As per the new decision, the maximum ceiling of the loan amount has been hiked from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh applicable from 2023-24 academic session and the scheme will also cover students from Odisha interested to pursue higher education in other states.
Besides, the annual income ceiling of parents has been increased to Rs 8 lakh from Rs 6 lakh. This will not just cover students studying in the state but also students from Odisha who have availed educational loan for pursuing higher studies abroad.
The higher education department will bear Rs 25 crore for five years on an average Rs 5 crore per year.
