Student Credit Card Schemes in India: Education Loan Up to ₹15 Lakh!

Student credit cards are designed specifically for those who are pursuing studies in schools or colleges.They are similar to standard credit cards where applicants do not require to have a credit history and therefore they don’t need collateral or a security deposit. The key difference between student credit cards and standard credit cards is their eligibility requirements. As a college student, applicants are more likely to qualify for a student credit card than other forms of credit, such as personal loans, education loans or loans on credit for that matter. A student credit card with responsible usage can be a very useful financial tool to seek monetary support for pursuing studies further and completing education. It not only allows to pay necessary expenses but also helps build credit simultaneously. 

Student Credit Card Schemes (SCCS) – A Brief Introduction! 

Student credit card schemes aim to extend financial support to students willing to pursue their  higher studies. Under this scheme, the government provides education loans to Indian students who have passed Class 10 or 12. Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS) are three such popular schemes in India. These schemes aim at providing education loans to the deserving students in their respective states for pursuing higher education. 

This article dwells on detailed information on eligibility criteria, documentation requirements, benefits, awards, and the application process for getting a student credit card. 

Student Credit Card Schemes in India 

Some of the popular student credit card schemes (SCCS) offered by the state governments are listed below.

1. Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) Scheme

An overarching goal of the State Government of Jharkhand is to ensure that every student gains an access to higher education in top institutions of India, regardless of their collateral free full guaranteed education loan up to ₹15 lakh. It is a welfare commitment that aims to eliminate barriers that discourage students from pursuing their studies further due to financial constraints. The objective of the Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) scheme is to offer and extend financial support from the State Government to students who have successfully completed their Class 10th education in a recognised school within the state of Jharkhand. This assistance entails nominal interest rates, along with appropriate guarantees provided to the concerned banking institutions. This financial support aims to motivate the pursuit of diploma courses for these students. Additionally, applicants who have completed their Class 10th and Class 12th education from recognised schools in the State of Jharkhand  are also eligible for this support. Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) scheme solely intends to extend a helping hand to the students willing to pursue their undergraduate and higher-level courses.

2. Bihar Student Credit Card (BSCC) Scheme 

Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme was launched by the State Government of Bihar in the month of October 2016. It mainly aims at extending financial support to students willing to pursue their higher education. Under the scheme, a student can get a maximum loan of ₹4 lakh. The interest rate for the loans has been 4% since 2018, and before that period, it was 10%. Girls, disabled people and transgender people can avail the loan at a lower interest rate of 1%. The state government is the guarantor of the loans. Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme, so far, has helped several students including those from backward classes and SCs, gain access to higher education. The state government has set a target of issuing at least one lakh credit cards every year. The loans issued under the Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme must be repaid within six months of a student getting employed or within one year of the applicants completing the course, whichever is earlier. Bihar State Education Finance Corporation Limited, set up in the month of April 2018, took over the implementation of the BSSC scheme from 2019-20 onwards. In 2020-21, credit cards for loans worth ₹2,041 crore were issued to 1,36,217 students. The state government aims to take all necessary steps to make Bihar’s GER equal to the national average.

3. West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS)

The Higher Education Department, Government of West Bengal has introduced the West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS) for the students of West Bengal to enable them pursue their education from class 10 onwards without facing any financial constraints. This student credit card scheme is designed to extend financial support to the students to pursue secondary, higher secondary, madrasah, undergraduate and postgraduate studies including professional degree and other equivalent courses in any School, Madrasah, College, University and other affiliated institutes within and outside India. Applicants pursuing their studies in various coaching institutions in pursuit of clearing different competitive examinations like Engineering, Medical, Law, IAS, IPS, WBCS etc, can also avail the education loan under the WBSCCS. A student from West Bengal can obtain a maximum loan of ₹10 lakh at the rate of 4% per annum simple interest from the State Cooperative Bank and its affiliated Central Cooperative Banks and District Central Cooperative Banks and Public/Private Sector Banks. 1% interest concession will be provided to the borrower if the interest is fully serviced during the study period.

It is applicable during the full period of the education loans without providing any collateral security and third-party guarantee, for pursuing education from class 10 onwards.

4. West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS)

A significant number of educated youth of West Bengal who have entrepreneurship skills and want to be self-reliant by setting up micro enterprises have limited access to institutional finance for their credit needs. Against this backdrop, the state government of West Bengal felt it necessary to facilitate the youth to become self-employed leading to income generation, wealth creation and creation of further employment opportunities in rural and urban areas of the State of West Bengal .The West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme 2024 (WBBCCS) scheme has been introduced by the state government of West Bengal to empower the youth of the state. It is dedicated to young entrepreneurs in the age group of 18-55 years and offers subsidy linked and collateral free loans for setting up new ventures/projects/micro enterprises in manufacturing, service and business/trading/ agro-based activities. Eligible applicants can apply for a business loan up to ₹5 lakh to start a business. The seed money up to ₹25,000 is provided by the state government of West Bengal. The tenure of the scheme is five years effective from 1st April, 2023.

Student Credit Card Scheme in India – Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for student credit card eligibility varies as per the scholarship opportunity. Eligibility requirements of student credit card schemes are as under. 

Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) Scheme

Eligibility Criteria 

• The student should be an Indian national and must have completed Class 10th to pursue diploma and Class 10th and 12th studies from a recognised school in Jharkhand,  to pursue undergraduate or higher courses. 
• The student should have secured admission in Indian institutions like IITs, IIMs, IIESTs, ISIs, NLUs, AIIMSs, NITs, XLRI, IISCs, BITS, SPA, NID, IIFTs, ICFAI Business School etc within and outside the State of Jharkhand which are ranked up to 200 in the overall list or ranked up to 100 in their respective individual category of NIRF Rankings or have been accredited grade either “A” or above by NAAC. 
• The applicants should not be aged more than 40 years at the time of application for loan and he/she should not be a prior beneficiary of the scheme.
• The applicants should not have availed education loan from any State Co-operative Banks or Central Co-operative Banks or District Central Co-operative Banks or any Public or Private sector Banks for the course in which he/she is applying for loan under the Scheme.

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme 

Eligibility Criteria

• Students must be an Indian citizen and a permanent resident in the State of Bihar.
• Applicants must have passed Class 12 from Bihar. 
• Candidates must be enrolled in an educational institution recognised by the concerned regulatory agency of Bihar and other state/central governments.
• Applicants must be willing to pursue professional/technical/general higher education courses. They are as under:
  • B.A.
  • B.Sc.
  • Engineering
  • MBBS
  • Management
  • Law, etc.
• The age of the candidate must be below 25 years at the time of application. 

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS) 

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant students seeking loan under the arrangement should be an Indian national and resident of West Bengal for the last 10 years. Self-declaration by the student as prescribed under the West Bengal Student Credit Card (WBSCC) Scheme is accepted.
• The age of applicants must be below 40 years at the time of application.
• Applicants should be enrolled in higher education programs within or outside the country in any of the following:
  • Schools
  • Madrasahs
  • Colleges
  • Universities
  • IITs
  • IIMs
  • IISc.
  • IIESTs
  • ISIs
  • NLUs
  • AIIMSs
  • NITs
  • XLRI
  • BITS
  • SPA
  • NID
  • IIFTs
  • ICFAI Business School, etc. 
• Students must be studying in coaching institutes for various competitive exams such as Engineering, Medical, Law, IAS, IPS, WBCS, SSC, etc,.

Note:- Students need to upload progress reports after each semester or year.

It would be worth mentioning the details of another scheme meant for educated youth who have the entrepreneurship skills but lack access to institutional credit.

West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS)

Eligibility Criteria

• Students must be an Indian citizen and a permanent resident of West Bengal for at least 10 years. 
• Any individual including motor transport workers and building  and other construction workers aged between 18 to 55 years are eligible to apply.
• Only one person from one family is eligible under the scheme where the ‘family’ means self and spouse.
• Employees of central/state government/government undertakings and their families will not be considered eligible to come under the purview of the West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme 2024 (WBBCCS). 
• Defaulter borrower in any bank/financial institution are ineligible.

Student Credit Card Schemes in India – Benefits 

Student credit card schemes offer a range of benefits to the candidates, which can vary depending on the specific scholarships.

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme 

• Applicant students domiciled in the State of Bihar can apply for education loans by linking their bank accounts under the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme.
• Candidates can avail education loans up to ₹4,00,000. 

Note:-

• If the applicant has a degree of one level, then the same level of degree will not be covered under this scheme. This provision will not apply to technical or managerial courses.
• In case of dropout by the beneficiaries for whatever reason, the balance amount of the loan from the time of dropout will not be made available to the institution or the student.

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS)

• The scheme provides a maximum loan of ₹10,00,000 at a 4% simple annual interest rate after interest subvention. 
• The rate of interest to be charged at prevalent External Benchmark based Lending Rate (EBLR) of State Bank of India Plus 1.5% per annum for the entire amount of loan sanctioned up to ₹10 lakh. For girl students, an additional concession @ 0.5% per annum in the interest rate is to be extended. The Rate of Interest so fixed on the date of sanction will remain unaltered and calculated at simple rate for the entire duration of the loan.
• The disbursement of interest subsidy claims to the banks shall be applicable on quarterly basis.
• Under the Arrangement, 1% interest concession is provided for the borrowers if the interest is serviced during the period when repayment holiday/moratorium is specified for interest/repayment under the arrangement.
• Students can access the loan at any point during their course of study. 
• Both the student and the parent/legal guardian must co-submit the loan application. 
• An agreement between the student, parents/legal guardians, and the bank will formalize the loan terms. 
• The student can incur expenditure up to 30% of the total loan sanctioned for non-institutional expenses for the whole course of study. However, the student studying in such Government Institutions having very less institutional expenses can incur expenditure not more than ₹3 lakh as non-institutional expenses during the whole course of study.
• Up to 20% of the total loan sanctioned can be used as living expenses for the duration of the course. However, the student studying in such Government Institutions having very less institutional expenses, can incur expenditure not more than  ₹2 lakh as living expenses during the whole course of study.
• No unnecessary restrictions or collateral security are required. 
• No security/collateral other than the co-obligation of parents/legal guardians is needed.

Insurance:

Students will get a life cover up to the loan amount. 

The premium will be paid by the student and debited from the loan account.

Time limits:

The Higher Education Department and the School Education Department will communicate on the loan sanctioning and disbursement process timeline after receiving approval from the competent authority.

Student Credit Card Scheme in India – Documents Required 

To avail of the benefits of the credit card schemes students must submit the following documents.

Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) Scheme

The following documents are to be uploaded at the time of filling up of online form:

• Coloured Photograph of the applicant in .jpeg/.jpg format with size between 50 KB and 20 KB. 
• Coloured Photograph of the co-applicant/co-borrower in .jpeg/.jpg format with size between 50 KB and 20 KB. 
• Signature of the student in .jpeg/.jpg format with size between 50 KB and 10 KB. 
• Co-borrower/Guardian’s signature in .jpeg/.jpg format with size between 50 KB and 10 KB.
• Student’s Aadhaar Card should be in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.
• Class 10th certificate of the applicant in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.
• Class 12th certificate of the applicant in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.
• Address proof of co-applicant/co-borrower in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.
• Admission receipt in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.
• Student’s PAN Card, if applicable should be in pdf format with size between 400 KB and 50 KB
• Prospectus/Certificate (from the competent authority of the institution) wherein charges like admission fee, examination fee, hostel charges etc. are mentioned in .pdf format  with size between 400 KB and 50 KB.

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme 

The following documents are to required at the time of filling up of online form:

• Aadhaar card of applicant and co-applicant 
• PAN Card of applicant and co-applicant 
• Marksheet of Class 10 and 12 and the last successful examination 
• Scholarship certificate (if applicable) 
• Course brochure or certificate obtained from the competent authority of the institute for verification of course duration (if the college is located inside Bihar, it is not required) 
• Certificate of admission to the course 
• Course fee return schedule 
• 2 passport-size photographs of the student, parent, guardian and guarantor
• Last year’s salary certificate and Form -16 (if applicable)
• Income tax return of the last two years (in case of income taxpayer)
• Statement of last six months’ bank accounts and Aadhaar card of the parent/guardian Residential Certificate
• Tax payment receipt (Advance Tax/Property Tax/Municipal Corporation Tax etc.)

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS)

The following information are required to fill up during form submission:

• Passport-size coloured photograph of the applicant and co-applicant /co-borrower
• Signature of the student and co-borrower/guardian’s signature
• Aadhaar Card of the applicant
• Age proof certificate
• Address proof of co-applicant/co-borrower
• Admission receipt
• PAN card of the student and guardian 
• Prospectus/certificate (from the competent authority of the institution) consisting of admission fee, examination fee, hostel charges, etc. 
• Marksheet/certificate of the last qualifying examination 

Note:- All the photographs should be in .jpeg/.jpg format with size between 50 KB and 20 KB and documents should be in pdf format  with size between 400 KB and 50 KB. 

West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS)

The following information are required to fill up during form submission:

• Applicant full name
• Father’s/Mother’s/Guardian’s name
• Date of birth of the applicant
• Gender
• Full address for communication and project location
• Education qualification
• Category of the applicant (SC/ST/PHC/OBC/Minority/General)
• Project name
• Project cost
• Co-operative Bank Name and Address
• Supporting documents required to upload for application form submission
• Proof of photo identity of the applicant
• Proof of residence
• Educational qualification certificate
• Detailed project report
• Recent passport size photograph and signature of the applicant.

How to Apply for a Student Credit Card Scheme in India? 

The step-by-step application process to apply for the various student’s credit card schemes is as under.

Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) Scheme

To apply under the GSCC scheme, students need to apply through a Guruji Student Credit Card (GSCC) Scheme mobile app or on the online portal. 

• Interested applicants need to visit the registration registration portal if they do not have an account created or registered.
• Fill in the required details in the portal.
• Click on the ‘Send OTP option and the student will receive the One Time Password to the registered mobile number and email ID.
• Once the authentication process is completed, students need to fill in their personal details and submit them.
  The user will be redirected to a new web page. The student credit card scheme online form will be selected from the three available options and the applicant needs to submit the desired information.
• After submitting the online application, the applicant will receive its acknowledgement along with the unique registration number on the mobile number and email ID.

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme

To avail of benefits under the Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme, students can easily apply through a mobile application or on the online portal. 

• Visit the online portal for the Bihar student credit card scheme.
• Fill in the required details in the portal.
• Click on the ‘Send OTP option and the student will receive the One Time Password to the registered mobile number and email ID.
• Once the authentication process is completed, students need to fill in their personal details and submit them.
  The user will be redirected to a new web page. The student credit card scheme online form will be selected from the three available options and the applicant needs to submit the desired information.
• After submitting the online application, the applicant will receive its acknowledgement along with the unique registration number on the mobile number and email ID.

Note:- Students don’t need to attach any documents online. 

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS)

• Interested applicants need to visit the official website of the West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme.
• Navigate to the ‘STUDENT REGISTRATION’ tab. 
• Select one option from the following ‘For institutions in India’ or ‘For institutions outside India.’
• Provide the required details for the online registration process 
• Click on the ‘Submit’ button to generate a User ID and password. 
• After completion of the registration process, a unique ID will be generated.
• Click on ‘Student Login’ by using the credentials.
• Fill in the details which can be accessed through the ‘Applicant Dashboard’ tab such as: 
• Enter personal details 
• Fill in the details of the co-borrowers present address
• Enter the applicant’s permanent address, course and income details
• Enter the bank details of students and co-borrowers 
• Click on the ‘Submit’ button.

West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS)

To apply under the West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme (WBBCCS):

• A new user will need to click on the ‘Login’ button at the top of the HOME page.
• Click on the ‘Register Here’ link.
• A user registration input form will appear.
• Applicants need to enter profile details and click on the ‘Register’ button.
• An OTP is to be sent to their mobile number. 
• An input field will appear where the user will have to input the OTP to activate the user profile.

Note:- The OTP session is valid for 60 seconds.

Student Credit Card Scheme in India – Important Links  

Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme – Handbook

Guruji Student Credit Card Scheme – FAQs 

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme – Guidelines 

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme – Application Flow 

Bihar Student Credit Card Scheme – FAQs

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme – Guidelines

West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme – FAQs 

West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme – Salient Features 

West Bengal Bhabishyat Credit Card Scheme – FAQs

Student Credit Card Scheme in India – FAQs 

Who can apply for the West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS)?

Interested applicants must be a resident of West Bengal for at least 10 years in order to apply for the West Bengal Student Credit Card Scheme (WBSCCS).

What is the minimum education qualification required for a student credit card scheme?

To apply for the credit card scheme students must have passed class 10 or 12 as applicable for different schemes. 

What is the maximum age to apply under the Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme?

The age of an applicant must not be more than 25 years at the time of application under the Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme.

When can a student apply for the student credit card scheme?

Students can apply for this scheme anytime during the tenure of the course.

What is the last date to apply for a student credit card scheme in India?

The students can apply under the given scheme throughout the year. 

Where can one obtain information related to the application process for Bihar Student Credit Card (BSSC) scheme? 

Information related to the application can be obtained from the ‘Arthik Hal, Yuvaon Ko Bal’ website http://www.7nishchay-yuvaupmission.bihar.gov.in and by calling the Toll-Free Number of the service centre at 18003456444.

What should an applicant do if they encounter any difficulties while filling out the online application? 

Applicants can call the service centre for assistance in filling out the online application. However, it has been made easy through the FAQs section provided with links for each of the schemes discussed in the article.