Budget reform needed to unlock student credit and future talent
MUMBAI, Jan 13 (The CONNECT) — India’s strong push for startups and skilling risks falling short unless the country fixes a critical gap in student financing, according to Damini Mahajan, Founder of WemakeScholars. She argues that education loans continue to be treated as discretionary credit rather than as strategic infrastructure essential for building a globally competitive workforce.
Mahajan points out that while policymakers celebrate India’s expanding global talent footprint, access to formal education credit remains severely limited. With fewer than 15 per cent of students able to tap institutional loans, the issue goes beyond banking inefficiencies and directly constrains the country’s talent pipeline. In her view, the mismatch between ambition and financing has created a paradox where the “startup dream” is actively funded, but the “education dream” is left largely to self-financing families.
She also flags the 5 per cent Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas remittances as an added burden that penalises students aspiring for global education, even as India positions itself as a supplier of world-class talent. Mahajan says the upcoming Union Budget must move beyond intent and deliver tangible relief to middle-class families struggling with education-related cash flows.
Calling for a rethinking of priorities, she urges the government to rationalise TCS and expand interest subsidy coverage to make education financing more inclusive and future-ready. Without such measures, she warns, India risks undermining its own skilling and startup ecosystem by starving it of well-funded, well-trained human capital.
“If we want a truly competitive workforce, education loans must be treated as national infrastructure, not optional credit. We cannot fund the startup dream and expect families to self-finance the education dream. The ambition is bold—now the financing must be equally bold,” said Damini Mahajan, Founder of WemakeScholars.
