Indian students from Ukraine have outstanding education loan of Rs 121 cr: Govt

The government on Monday said in the parliament that up to 1,319 students that have returned from Ukraine have availed education loans with an outstanding balance of Rs 121.61 crore as of December 31, 2021, according to information shared by 21 private sector banks.

On the question of waiving off student loans, the government said that the implications of the ongoing conflict can be assessed and remedial steps considered only once the situation has stabilised.

Nirmala Sitharaman, the Minister of Finance was replying to a starred question raised in the Lok Sabha by Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu on the Indian government's plans to waive off the loans of the returnee students from war-torn Ukraine.

The minister said that the government has decided to ask the Indian Banks’ Association to assess the impact of the conflict on outstanding education loans of the returnee students and to initiate stakeholder consultations.

According to the ministry, around 22,500 Indian nationals, mostly students, have returned from Ukraine to India safely since February 1, 2022. The government said that it "provided all possible assistance in terms of shelter, food and medical attention where required, to displaced Indians who crossed over to the western neighbours of Ukraine, and they were eventually evacuated through flights operated under Operation Ganga. Welfare of Indians abroad, including students, is a top priority for the Government of India."

The debate on waiving off education loans for Indian students studying in Ukraine was also raised three weeks ago as parliamentarians demanded that the government formulate a policy to allow students evacuated from war-torn Ukraine to complete their medical education in universities in India. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha Congress member Rajmohan Unnithan Kasargod claimed that thousands of students from Kerala were still stranded in Sumy in Ukraine and demanded that the government take urgent steps to bring them to safety.

Congress member Abdul Khaleque said the government should have taken steps earlier to evacuate students from Ukraine and not have waited till the hostilities broke out.

"Indian students had to reach countries neighbouring Ukraine on their own. In reality, this cannot be termed as evacuation as is being claimed by the government," Khaleque, a member from Barpeta in Assam, said. YSRCP members PV Midhun Reddy and M Sreenivasulu Reddy demanded that the government take steps to relocate students rescued from Ukraine in medical colleges in India to allow them to complete their studies.