As a step towards bridging the funding gap that exists for the students of India, NSDL e-governance Infrastructure Limited, has entered the field of education technology infrastructure with three service verticals, Vidyasaarathi, Vidya Kaushal and Vidya Lakshmi.
Although the primary focus is on the financial spectrum of the education sector, each vertical adheres to providing different services. Students can avail of scholarships of domestically through Vidyasaarathi, a single entry point through the scholarship or grant route. It acts as a catalyst between companies looking to contribute to the education space with their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds and students.
“Corporates can choose to create their own schemes and criteria to give scholarships to the deserving students. However, the schemes are designed and moderated by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), our partner for this project. So far, 23 corporates have associated with Vidyasaarathi to design and provide scholarship schemes to students,” says Gagan Rai, MD, and CEO of NSDL- e governance.
Skill development
They have also developed Vidya Kaushal, a first-of-its- kind portal, which enables deserving and needy students to apply for financial assistance to pursue skill development training courses, under National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). “It is an aggregator which brings together all the stakeholders in skill education, like students, training centres, and financing agencies to identify quality leads for financers and financing options for students. It also provides skill course counselling,” adds Rai. Students are required to fill a form to register themselves for availing access to these courses.
Monitoring system
Apart from loan procurement, sufficient efforts have been directed towards creating a comprehensive monitoring system for education loans in the country. Vidya Lakshmi is the product of this initiative. “It was developed as a mechanism for students to track their application status and communicate online with banks to ensure a smooth, hassle-free process of loan procurement and our vision that no student should miss out on higher education due to lack of funds,” says Rai.
Students can register themselves in the individual portals, using their unique credentials to get started. Those interested can log on to www.vidyasaarthi.co.in for more details.
