Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 27: NSUI national secretary Fairoz Khan has strongly criticized the HRD Ministry for its move to cut off the subsidy on student loan.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Khan alleged that BJP Government has reduced the UPA -introduced subsidy that allowed students whose parents have an annual income below Rs 4.5 lakh to access interest free bank loans for professional and technical education.
“Till last year, nearly 18 lakh poor students were benefited due to this scheme. In the Union Budget 2009-10, the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had introduced the Central Scheme for Interest Subsidy (CSIS) with respect to education loans disbursed after April 1, 2009, under which the Government paid the interest on behalf of the student in the period of their study and a little beyond. In 2014, the then Finance Minister, P Chidambaram had waived the interest on education loans taken before March 2009, amounting to Rs 2,600 crore. This is the approach the UPA Government had towards students and education,” the NSUI leader elaborated.
Fairoz Khan said that NSUI not only condemns BJP Government’s action but also warns the Government, especially its HRD Ministry led by Smriti Irani that such regressive approach by them will not be tolerated. “We demand strongly that the decision to cut the student loan subsidy be revoked immediately and all student loans be made hassle free and interest free,” he added.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel