The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Banks eager to give education loans

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 29, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Banks eager to give education loans

R. Ravikanth Reddy

Students latch on to opportunity

HYDERABAD: Banks are offering education loans on a platter with lots of incentives this year.

"It is much easier to get an education loan than a seat in engineering these days," remarked a parent, Prabhakar Reddy. And students are not hesitating to utilise the opportunity.

In just two days of counselling, the State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) has given sanction letters to 30 students while the Bank of India approved 40 requests. Similar is the case with Bank of Baroda and other nationalised banks that set up stalls at the counselling venue. "There is good response from the students and parents. They are confident of getting the loan right from the word go and it is up to them to choose the bank," says C. Rajeshwar, Deputy Manager, Shanthi Nagar branch of SBH.

The loans not only cover the tuition fee but also hostel fee, library fee, travelling expenses and books. "If the students need to buy a computer, loan is available for that also," says Sikora, Marketing Manager of Bank of India.

The rate of interest is 10.5 per cent for loans under Rs. 4 lakhs, which suffices for an engineering student. However, Bank of Baroda (BOB) is offering one per cent less interest for girl students. "This is an incentive to encourage girls," says K.V. Sharma, officer at the Charminar branch of BOB. As per the liberalised policy of the Central Government banks sanction up to Rs. four lakhs for education in India without any collateral security.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh