Vidya Lakshmi: Loan Pointer

Vidya Lakshmi: Loan Pointer is an independent, unofficial Android app about the PM-Vidyalaxmi student loan scheme. The scheme is written in the language of guidelines — moratorium, subvention, credit guarantee, EBLR, QHEI — and this app turns it into plain English plus the arithmetic, done on your own figures, on your phone, with no sign-in and nothing sent anywhere.

What the app does

• It opens on a worked answer, not a blank form. The simulator is already filled in, so you see a full answer and a chart before typing anything. Four sliders — loan amount, rate, course length, and interest paid monthly while studying — move every figure and chart as you drag them, and two plans sit side by side: pay nothing while you study, or pay a little, and see what that buys in months and rupees. A timeline shows the study years, the moratorium year and the instalments.
• Eight calculators: repayment simulator; eligibility check (six questions, three verdicts: the loan, the subvention track, the 75% guarantee); subvention value, for what 3 percentage points or full CSIS subvention is worth in rupees; moratorium interest, for what builds while no instalment is due and the scheme's share of it; EMI and schedule, with the amortisation table and what a longer term costs; course cost planner, for fees plus hostel, mess, laptop and living costs less scholarships and margin; credit guarantee cover, for what the 75% absorbs and what it does not; and subvention place odds, your state's share of the one lakh places and the priority ladder.
• Thirteen guide chapters for a first-time applicant: eligibility, qualifying institutions, how much you can borrow, the credit guarantee, both subvention tracks, the moratorium, repayment, applying, claiming, and why applications fail.
• Offline reference: over forty questions and answers, a glossary of the terms the paperwork never explains (moratorium, subvention, co-obligant, EBLR, CGFSEL, APAAR, CBDC wallet), a 25-step checklist that remembers your ticks, and every ceiling on one screen.

What it does not do

This is an unofficial app, not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the PM-Vidyalaxmi scheme, the Department of Higher Education, the Ministry of Education, Canara Bank, NCGTC, or any bank or arm of the Government of India. It does not offer loans and cannot be used to apply for one: it does not accept or process applications, does not release money, does not check application status, does not collect applicant data and cannot access any account. There is no account and no sign-in, and no server of ours. It never asks for Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or passwords, and has no access to contacts, messages, call logs, photos or location. Never type an Aadhaar number, a PAN, a bank account number, a password or a one-time code into any third-party app or site.

Key facts about the programme

• The scheme supports a collateral-free education loan for study in India at a Quality Higher Education Institution, with the institution list drawn from NIRF ranking.
• A credit guarantee of 75% is available on loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh. It protects the lender against default; the borrower still owes the full balance.
• Interest subvention applies during the moratorium, referenced to a Rs 10 lakh loan ceiling. Family income thresholds of Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 8 lakh decide the track: full CSIS subvention on the lower one, 3 percentage points on the higher one. Places are capped at one lakh students a year and allocated by a priority ladder.
• Repayment can run to 180 instalments, at a bank-set, EBLR-linked rate the scheme does not publish.
• Applying involves documents, income certificates, Aadhaar de-duplication and an e-voucher redemption window with a deadline.
• Ceilings and institution lists are revised, so treat any number here as provisional and confirm it on the official portal.

Every figure is an estimate for planning — not a quotation, not an offer of credit, and not a statement of any balance. Your bank's sanction letter is the authority on your own loan. The app is free, supported by Google AdMob adverts that read an advertising ID. Apply only at https://pmvidyalaxmi.co.in. PM-Vidyalaxmi names are used descriptively. Not financial, tax or legal advice.