India tops on giving edu loans: FM

India occupied first place in the world in giving education loans, benefiting 10 lakh students till September this year, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said. The banks in India have sanctioned a total of Rs 14,500 crore as educational loans, he said while inaugurating the 2878th branch of the Bank of India (BOI) at the temple town of Tirunallar in Karaikal enclave of Puducherry on Dec 08. The Government has planned to further provide education assistance to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore to 15 lakh students belonging to minority communities over a period of five years. From an estimated target of Rs 2,25,000 crore, the farm credit was likely to rise by Rs 10,000 crore in 2007-2008.