Kerala: The loan ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 1.5 lakh will be given to students pursuing skill training programmes from ASAP Kerala or any other central or state government recognized agencies conducting National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) or National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) courses.
The loan was formally launched by Higher Education Minister R. Bindu in the presence of Canara Bank general manager and State Level Bankers’ Committee convener S. Premkumar on Wednesday.
Canara Bank will provide skill loans to students interested in pursuing skill training programmes. This initiative is in association with Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala, the government company under the Higher Education Department.
The loan is provided without any collateral and has a repayment period of three to seven years. Students can also avail moratorium on repayment for the duration of the course and additional six months. Students enrolled in the skill courses can apply for the loan directly at the nearest Canara Bank or through the Vidyalakshmi portal and avail of the loan facility without any hindrance.
The skill loan marked a milestone in imparting skill training in Kerala. The initiative would help poor students gain the necessary skills for the emerging job market. The current trends in the job market emphasize the need to give equal importance to skills training as academic training, therefore loans schemes for short-term skills training are as necessary as educational loans for professional academic courses.
S Premkumar, General Manager and Convener of the State Level Bankers’ Committee; ASAP Kerala officials Vinod TV, Business Head; Commander Vinod Sankar (rtd) Administration Head; Anwar Hussain, Finance Head; Program Managers Rijil Alakkadan and Ruby Ismail were also present at the press conference held at the PRD Chamber, Thiruvananthapuram.
