Puducherry: Shri N. Rangasamy, Pondicherry Chief Minister, stressed the need for a relaxation in lending norms for education loans so that more students from the economically weaker sections of the society are able to avail them and pursue higher studies.

He asked the banks to stick to the recent directive of not insisting on a collateral for providing education loans. He was speaking at an inaugural function at the Rajiv Gandhi College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Kurumbapet. A new branch of Vijaya Bank was set up in the premises.

Speaking on the occasion, T. Valliappan Executive Director Vijaya Bank said, "bank would launch a program to train unemployed youth in Puducherry to take up self-employment ventures. After the training, a written test would be conducted. Successful candidates would be provided loans to start these ventures."

The collateral clause is one of the major cause, which deprives the poorer sections of the society to avail an education loan. Since they have little to offer as security and do not possess the requisite income qualifications and repayment capacity, banks out rightly deny them any education loan.

This practice was deplored by the Government Institutions and they had asked the banks to do away with the collateral requirements. With the economy witnessing a tremendous boom and a huge requirement of talented manpower already on the cards, Government of India is putting every effort to provide necessary resources to talented youth.