Using RTI to get the education loans sanctioned by the bank
19 Mar, 2014A resident of Kancheepuram, Deepak, has innovatively used the tool of Right to Information (RTI) Act to secure educational loans for poor, deserving students.
Experience has shown that the educational loans are tougher to get when compared to other commercial loans as the Bank managers tend to deny or delay these loans on some pretext or other. A common reason for denial of educational loan is the residence of the borrower does not fall under the bank branch's service area which is against the RBI guidelines. As per the guidelines, such requirements exist only for government-sponsored schemes and not educational loans.
Deepak, a class 12 pass out, couldn't secure a bank loan for the pilot training course. He now works for Voice of Indian, an NGO, which files nearly 5,000 RTI applications annually. He takes up the cause of students who are in a situation similar to what he had faced. It has been seen that in most cases, filing an application seeking the reasons for the denial of the loan persuades the bank to reverse the decision of loan denial.