RBI orders banks to speed up student loan disbursals

 This direction comes in the wake of the central bank receiving complaints from various quarters, including the government, on the difficulties faced by the public in obtaining bank finance for higher education.

 The complaints received by the RBI pertain to the inordinate delays in the processing of loans for higher education and insistence on collateral security against the extant guidelines, thereby causing hardship to the students.

 In the wake of difficulties faced by the students in getting education loans, the central bank has asked banks to issue necessary instructions to all their branches to ensure the smooth and expeditious disposal of education loan applications without insisting on collateral security for loans up to Rs 4 lakh.