Banks can submit claims under the Central Scheme to provide Interest Subsidy (CSIS) on education loans for 2016-17 from August 23 to November 23, 2017.
An August 18 circular from the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to chief executives of member banks cited a directive issued in this regard by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Canara Bank, the nodal bank under the CSIS scheme, may keep its web portal open from August 23 to November 23, the IBA circular said. It is the HRD Ministry which provides full interest subsidy to eligible students during the period of study plus a moratorium period of one year.
Prerequisites
Students who have taken education loans to pursue professional/technical courses in India are eligible to apply for full interest subsidy if the annual parental income is less than ₹4.50 lakh. Member banks may submit claims for FY17, the circular said. The nodal bank has since made necessary changes in the Data Structure Document for capturing the date of birth of students in the CSIS web portal, as per the instructions of the HRD Ministry.
The IBA requested the member banks to submit the claims pertaining to all eligible education loan accounts for 2016-17.
They have also been advised to inform their respective Regional Rural Banks regarding the matter and ensure submission of claims within the stipulated time frame.
They shall train the staff on the CSIS scheme to ensure that claims are submitted in time and without errors.
The Education Loan Task Force, a voluntary body to create public awareness, says that in the past, several banks have failed to claim subsidy to eligible students due to lack of awareness among staff about the scheme.
Parents are required to submit the income certificate signed by the competent authority for applying for the loan. Eligible students may approach the respective bank managers and hand over a letter copied to the zonal manager of the bank requesting them to submit the claim in time.
