The Government of Goa has announced a One-Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme to provide relief to beneficiaries of the Interest Free Education Loan (IFEL) Scheme by waiving penal interest levied due to delayed repayments.
The OTS Scheme will come into effect from February 1, 2026, and will remain open until July 31, 2026, offering an opportunity for defaulting beneficiaries to regularise and close their loan accounts.
The IFEL Scheme has been implemented by the Goa Education Development Corporation (GEDC) since 2005 to support students pursuing higher education. While many beneficiaries have either fully repaid their loans or are servicing them regularly, several borrowers were unable to meet repayment timelines due to circumstances beyond their control, resulting in the accumulation of penal interest.
The newly announced OTS Scheme is aimed at providing relief to such borrowers and facilitating faster recovery and closure of pending loan accounts.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries who are beyond the stipulated payback period may settle their loans by paying the outstanding principal amount along with a reduced interest component. Those opting to repay within two months will be charged five per cent interest, while repayments made within four months will attract ten per cent interest. Beneficiaries who settle their dues within six months will be required to pay fifteen per cent interest.
For beneficiaries who are still within the payback period, the scheme provides for a complete waiver of penal interest, subject to the condition that all unpaid EMIs are cleared within three months. Subsequent instalments must then be paid strictly as per the original repayment schedule.
The scheme also covers cases where beneficiaries have already repaid the full principal amount and only penal interest remains outstanding. Such loan accounts will be treated as closed. However, penal interest already paid prior to the notification of the scheme will not be refunded. Eligible beneficiaries may apply to GEDC for issuance of a No Dues Certificate.
According to official estimates, around 1,402 defaulting beneficiaries are expected to benefit from the OTS Scheme, with the total outstanding amount estimated at approximately ₹21.30 crore.
Beneficiaries intending to avail of the scheme must submit their applications along with repayment details to GEDC within the stipulated period.
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