This week is going to unleash some good news in the finance sector. After the emphatic victory in the confidence motion, the Union Government is now reiterating the financial reforms. The government is now planning to provide interest subsidy on educational loans and also start a scholarship scheme to help poor and meritorious students who want to pursue professional education. Soon, the government would launch a scheme under which interest subsidy would be provided on educational loans taken by the students belonging to economically poor sections for pursuing professional education inside the country.
Apart from interest subsidy on educational loans,the government will also start a national merit scholarship scheme that would cover about 41,000 boys and the same number of girls based on their performance at the intermediate examination. Every student under the scheme would get a scholarship of Rs. 1,000 per month for ten months for the first two years and Rs. 2,000 monthly for the subsequent period. This scholarship would cover the most promising two per cent of the students in class XII.
Another scholarship programme is operating since 2006 for single girl children securing more than 60 per cent marks in class X and class XII. This new scholarship program will address the needs of a wider section. In addition, the government has increased the assistance for M.Tech. courses from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 8,000.