Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda at the Assembly on the last day of the Budget Session. (Express photo by Jasbir Malhi)

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Wednesday announced a new education loan scheme under which the state government would give credit guarantee for education loan to be taken by the students under various categories of medical, engineering and other professional courses. Earlier, students had to face difficulties in securing higher education loan due to lack of collateral guarantee required by the banks.

The chief minster made this announcement while replying on the State Budget for the year 2020-21 on the concluding day of Budget Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha here Wednesday.

He said that a Credit Guarantee Fund would be set up by the state government for this purpose. The CM added that after becoming an earning hand, the students would be required to refund the loan amount to the banks. A separate provision has been made in the Budget for this scheme, he clarified.

The chief minister also announced that as the state government has created a separate Foreign Cooperation Department with an aim to focus on initiatives taken by the state to promote welfare of Non-Resident Indians, investment and youth employment, it has been decided that farmers, workers, students, teachers and representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies would be sent on foreign tours to abreast them with information about latest schemes at the global level. He said that 500 members of such different categories would be sent on foreign tours to different countries every year.

He also announced that state government employees and their dependents would now be able to get the facility of lungs and heart transplant. He added that in case a government employee or dependent gets lungs transplantation from Gleneagles Global Health City, Chennai, Apollo Hospital, Chennai and MGM Hospital Private Limited, Chennai or in any other equivalent Hospital, the reimbursement of expenditure would be made by the government. Apart from this, if the heart transplant is also performed at a recognised hospital, the reimbursement of the expenditure of the same would also be made by the state government.