Education loan for MBBS in Russia: what five Indian banks offer

Every figure below links to the bank’s own page or the government document it comes from. Banks change rates, fees and lists without notice, and two documents from the same bank sometimes disagree; where they do, we show both. The sanction letter is what binds the bank, so check each figure against it before you sign. We did not check private banks or non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), so their terms are not on this page.

Five banks at a glance

Study-abroad loan terms at five banks, as they apply to an undergraduate medical course at a Russian university. Canara Bank lends under the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) model scheme. For SBI, the sources include the most important terms and conditions (MITC) it publishes for each scheme. Two terms recur below. The margin is the share of the cost your family pays itself: at a 15% margin the bank lends 85% of the cost it accepts. The moratorium is the repayment holiday, the course plus a set period after it, during which no instalment is due.

Checked 18 October 2026. Bank of Baroda’s, PNB’s and Canara’s current rates could not be read from their pages that day; see Interest rates.

Does the bank lend for a Russian university?

Of the five, only SBI prints a country list. Its Global Ed-Vantage page names the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and a list of European countries, and Russia is among the European ones (checked 18 October 2026). Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Belarus are not on it. SBI’s MITC for the scheme, a November 2024 document, says a course in a country off the list “may be considered basing on the merits on a case-to-case basis”. A missing country means a conversation with the branch; SBI does not say it will refuse.

The other four banks name no countries. Their conditions are about how you were admitted:

• ›Bank of Baroda: an Indian national admitted to a professional or technical course abroad through an entrance test or a merit-based selection process.
• ›PNB: a resident Indian admitted to a recognised institution abroad through an entrance test or merit-based selection after Class 12.
• ›Union Bank of India: an Indian national who secured admission through the appropriate selection process and cleared the qualifying examination, if any. Abroad, it lends for graduate and postgraduate degrees from recognised universities, and not for diplomas.
• ›Canara Bank: its IBA Model Education Loan Scheme page covers undergraduate courses abroad and sets different security for merit-quota and management-quota admissions. It does not say which version of the IBA scheme it follows. The latest revision, the IBA’s Model Education Loan Scheme (MELS) 2022, asks for admission to a recognised institution through an entrance test or merit-based selection after Class 12 (clause 4.2).

None of these pages mentions the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG), and none says how it treats a direct admission letter from a Russian university. Before you apply, ask the branch which papers it accepts as proof of a merit-based admission, and show it your NEET-UG scorecard with the university’s admission letter.

No lender we checked uses the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS) as its test, and a sanction letter says nothing about whether the degree will let you practise in India. That turns on the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations, 2021 (FMGL-2021). Our guide “Is my university NMC approved?” shows how to check a programme against them.

Premier lists: no Russian university on them

SBI and Bank of Baroda keep lists of institutions that get better terms, and no Russian university is on either. SBI’s revised list of select institutions, the January 2026 file linked from its scheme page, names 100 institutions in 17 countries and territories, 36 of them in the USA and 18 in the UK. None is in Russia. Only those 100 get SBI’s collateral-free Global Ed-Vantage loan of up to ₹50 lakh and the separate rates SBI prints for select institutions.

Bank of Baroda’s list of premier institutions abroad for medical courses has 100 entries, none of them in Russia. The PDF was created on 17 June 2022, so the list is more than four years old. A Russian MBBS therefore falls under Baroda Scholar’s non-premier terms: up to ₹60 lakh against ₹150 lakh for listed institutions, and a 10% margin above ₹7.50 lakh where listed institutions pay none. One term runs the other way: girl students get a 0.20% rate concession at non-premier institutions and none at premier ones.

SBI: two schemes, split at ₹7.50 lakh

For study abroad SBI uses two schemes. Its Student Loan Scheme lends up to ₹7.50 lakh; above that you borrow under Global Ed-Vantage, up to ₹3.00 crore. Both pages were last updated on 7 September 2026.

From SBI’s Student Loan and Global Ed-Vantage pages, the Global Ed-Vantage MITC and the rate page (rates with effect from 15 October 2026), checked 18 October 2026.

Global Ed-Vantage, clause by clause

• ›Who can borrow: an Indian national, or an Overseas Citizen of India resident in India, who has secured admission to a foreign university (MITC, clause 3).
• ›Security: the parents or guardian sign as co-obligants, which makes them liable for the loan jointly with the student; tangible collateral of suitable value; and an assignment of the student’s future income, which gives the bank a claim on the student’s later earnings for the instalments. SBI accepts land or a building, government securities, bonds of public-sector undertakings, National Savings Certificates, Kisan Vikas Patras, Life Insurance Corporation policies, gold, shares or bank deposits, including collateral from a third party other than the parents (MITC, clause 9).
• ›Margin: the scheme page gives no percentage. It says scholarships count toward the margin and that you bring it in year by year, pro rata with each disbursement. The MITC says “Margin: 10%”. Ask the branch which it will apply.
• ›Processing fee: 0.50% of the loan, at least ₹10,000 and at most ₹50,000, plus goods and services tax (GST), on the scheme page updated 7 September 2026. The older MITC says ₹10,000 plus taxes per application. You pay the figure in your sanction letter.
• ›Interest: simple interest during the course and the moratorium. Interest that builds up in the moratorium is added to the principal before the equated monthly instalment (EMI) is fixed.
• ›Timing: SBI says it can sanction and disburse before the I-20 or visa. The I-20 is a US admission form, and SBI names no Russian equivalent. The MITC lets SBI pay before the admission letter or visa only “if required by College/ University/ VISA issuing authorities”, and says the visa must be submitted before the second disbursement. Our student visa page covers the Russian visa.
• ›Decision: at most 15 days after a complete application, plus at least 15 more working days where verification with other authorities is needed (MITC, clause 14).
• ›Delays in the course: SBI can extend the course period by up to 2 years if you ask before the moratorium ends (MITC, clause 13).

Student Loan, for ₹7.50 lakh or less

Up to ₹7.50 lakh, SBI’s Student Loan asks only for a parent or guardian as co-borrower, with no collateral and no third-party guarantee. The margin for study abroad is nil up to ₹4 lakh and 15% above. The page charges no processing fee on loans up to ₹10 lakh, so a study-abroad Student Loan, which stops at ₹7.50 lakh, has none. SBI’s Student Loan MITC (November 2024) adds a ₹5,000 deposit on study-abroad loans above ₹4 lakh and up to ₹7.50 lakh. SBI adjusts it against the margin or interest, and keeps it if you do not take the loan within 6 months of sanction.

SBI publishes three different dates for when this loan’s repayment starts. The scheme page says one year after the course. SBI’s repayment page, updated 11 March 2026, says EMIs on Student Loans for study abroad start 6 months after the course. The Student Loan MITC says the course plus 1 year, or 6 months after you get a job, whichever is earlier. Get the date written into your sanction letter.

Bank of Baroda, PNB, Canara and Union Bank

Bank of Baroda: Baroda Scholar

Baroda Scholar is for “Students going abroad for professional/technical studies”, in the words of its MITC, and the student must be an Indian national. For a Russian university, which is not on the premier list, it lends up to ₹60 lakh. The margin is nil up to ₹4 lakh, 15% from ₹4 lakh to ₹7.50 lakh, and 10% above.

Security, by the MITC: up to ₹4 lakh, a parent’s co-obligation and nothing else; above ₹4 lakh up to ₹7.50 lakh, a suitable third-party guarantee; above ₹7.50 lakh up to ₹80 lakh, tangible collateral worth 100% of the loan; above ₹80 lakh, security worth 1.25 times the loan. Every tier above ₹4 lakh also takes an assignment of the student’s future income. The same page contradicts itself here: its Benefits block says “No security up to Rs.7.50 Lakh”, and its FAQ answers no to whether a collateral-free loan is available for study abroad. Ask the branch which rule it applies.

The moratorium is the course period plus 1 year. You repay in up to 120 instalments on a loan up to ₹7.50 lakh and up to 180 above that. Processing is free up to ₹7.50 lakh; above it, the charge is 1% of the loan, capped at ₹10,000, plus GST. Where property is mortgaged, the bank takes ₹8,500 per property, not refundable, for the advocate and the valuer. Above ₹7.50 lakh, group credit life insurance is mandatory, or the student can give a term plan from any insurer approved by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI; the bank’s page says “IRDA approved”). Overdue amounts on loans above ₹4 lakh carry penal interest of 2% a year.

PNB Udaan

PNB Udaan is for resident Indians admitted to a recognised institution abroad through an entrance test or merit-based selection after Class 12. Finance is need-based, subject to margin: nil up to ₹4 lakh and 15% above. Up to ₹7.50 lakh the parents are joint borrowers and PNB asks for no tangible security or third-party guarantee; above ₹7.50 lakh it asks for tangible collateral of suitable value. The moratorium is the course period plus 1 year, you have up to 15 years to repay, and there are no prepayment charges. The page lists personal living expenses among the costs it covers, and says PNB may reimburse fees you paid within the last six months, on the merits of the case.

Canara Bank: IBA model scheme

Canara’s IBA Model Education Loan Scheme page covers undergraduate courses abroad, with finance based on need. The margin for study abroad is 15% above ₹4 lakh. Merit-quota loans up to ₹7.50 lakh need no collateral and are covered under the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL); above ₹7.50 lakh Canara asks for tangible collateral worth at least 100% of the loan. Management-quota loans need collateral worth 50% of the loan up to ₹4 lakh and 100% above that. RBI bars collateral on any education loan up to ₹4 lakh (see Collateral), so if Canara asks for collateral on a loan of ₹4 lakh or less, ask the branch to name the rule it is applying, in writing. Canara does not say which quota a direct admission abroad falls under, so do not assume the merit-quota terms. The moratorium is the course plus one year. Repayment then runs up to 15 years, with no prepayment penalty, and the student assigns future income to the bank.

Union Bank of India: Union Education

Union Education lends to Indian nationals for graduate and postgraduate degrees from recognised universities abroad. A parent joins as co-applicant, and life insurance on the student for the loan amount is mandatory. The page says “There is no restriction on the maximum amount of loans”: finance is need-based, subject to a margin that is nil up to ₹4 lakh and 15% above for study abroad.

Security rises in three steps. Up to ₹4 lakh there is none, but CGFSEL cover is compulsory. From ₹4 lakh to ₹7.50 lakh Union Bank takes a third-party guarantee or CGFSEL cover. Above ₹7.50 lakh it wants tangible collateral covering the loan plus the interest that builds up over the course and moratorium. It pays the loan to the institute directly. The moratorium is the course plus 1 year, and repayment runs 15 years (180 months). Interest is simple during the course and moratorium and compound after, and the page offers an interest rebate if you pay interest before repayment starts.

For study abroad, the processing charge is ₹10,000 plus GST up to ₹40 lakh and ₹20,000 plus GST above that. Union Bank does not refund it if you do not take the loan.

Collateral, margin and the ₹7.50 lakh line

The banks’ terms look alike because RBI advised all scheduled commercial banks to adopt the IBA’s model scheme (RBI FAQ, question 1). The same education-loan FAQ, dated 10 October 2023, names MELS 2022 as the latest revision and leaves banks free to change it. IBA published MELS 2022 on 26 May 2023; its Educational Loan Scheme page still links the 2015 version, amended in 2016. We found no later revision on 18 October 2026. For study abroad, MELS 2022 sets:

• ›margin: nil up to ₹4 lakh; 15% from ₹4 lakh to ₹7.50 lakh, which may be nil if the loan qualifies for a credit guarantee; at the bank's discretion above ₹7.50 lakh;
• ›security: none up to ₹7.50 lakh, with the parents as joint borrowers; tangible collateral of suitable value above that;
• ›the student as the primary borrower, who assigns future income to the bank.

One rule comes from RBI itself. Under its circular of 12 April 2010, banks must not take collateral on an education loan up to ₹4 lakh (RBI FAQ, question 3).

SBI and PNB count scholarships toward the margin, and let you bring it in year by year as each disbursement is made.

The credit guarantee protects the bank

CGFSEL is a Government of India trust fund managed by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC). It guarantees education loans of up to ₹7.50 lakh that a bank gives without collateral or a third-party guarantee, to Indian nationals eligible under the IBA’s model scheme “for pursuing Higher Education in India and Abroad”. It covers up to 75% of the amount in default (NCGTC FAQ). The lenders it covers are public-sector, private-sector and foreign banks that are IBA members; NBFCs are not among them at present. The guarantee pays the bank if you default. You and your parents still owe the whole loan.

What the loan pays for

SBI’s Global Ed-Vantage page lists what it finances: fees payable to the college and hostel; examination, library and laboratory fees; travel; books, equipment, a computer and other course costs, capped at 20% of the total tuition; a caution or refundable deposit, capped at 10% of the tuition for the whole course; and the premium of a life or credit-life policy. PNB Udaan adds personal living expenses. SBI and Bank of Baroda pay the institution directly where they can, and Union Bank pays the institute directly.

SBI, Bank of Baroda, Canara and Union Bank all ask for a schedule of the cost of study. Ask the university for a fee letter that sets out tuition and hostel year by year; the bank wants the university’s own figures. To plan before that letter arrives, our fee table shows tuition, hostel and insurance for each university we list, in US dollars, and the one-time charges are set out below it. The universities themselves are on our Russian universities page.

Documents and where to apply

SBI’s checklist is the same on its Global Ed-Vantage and Student Loan pages:

• ›the loan application form;
• ›a statement of assets and liabilities of the applicant, co-applicant or guarantor, for loans above ₹7.50 lakh;
• ›know-your-customer (KYC) proof of identity and of address; for identity, a permanent account number (PAN) card, passport, driving licence or voter ID. PAN is mandatory if SBI does not already hold it, and the student's passport is mandatory for study abroad;
• ›Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets, graduation mark sheets if any, and the entrance exam result;
• ›proof of admission: the offer or admission letter;
• ›the schedule of expenses for the course;
• ›any scholarship or free-ship letter, and a gap certificate if applicable;
• ›the co-applicant's or guarantor's income proof: salary slips with Form 16 or the income-tax return (ITR) if salaried; business address proof and the latest ITR if not;
• ›statements for the last 6 months of every bank account held;
• ›title documents of any property or other security offered.

The others differ in the details. Union Bank asks for 12 months of bank statements of the borrower, co-borrower and guarantor, against 6 at SBI and Bank of Baroda. Canara asks for age proof, photographs and land records. Bank of Baroda asks for the entrance exam result where it applies. MELS 2022 makes the passport mandatory for study abroad and PAN mandatory with the application or before the first disbursement, and lets banks lend on an invitation or conditional offer letter where the institution demands one.

Where to apply

You can apply at the bank or through the PM-Vidyalaxmi portal, a single government portal for applying to banks for education loans for study in India and abroad. Canara Bank develops and maintains it for the Department of Higher Education. The portal releases no money: its FAQ calls it “only a processing channel” and sends you to each bank’s website for interest rates. SBI’s Global Ed-Vantage MITC says SBI receives applications through the Vidya Lakshmi or Jan Samarth portal, and MELS 2022 asks banks to upload any paper application to the portal. The PM-Vidyalaxmi interest subsidy is a separate scheme, and it does not cover study abroad (see Government interest subsidies).

SBI generally sanctions the loan at the branch nearest the student’s or parent’s permanent address (MITC, clause 8). Under an RBI circular of 9 November 2012, a bank may not reject an education-loan application because you live outside its service area (RBI FAQ, question 5).

Interest rates on 18 October 2026

From SBI’s rate page (updated 16 October 2026) and Union Bank’s retail rate sheet, checked 18 October 2026.

SBI gives girl students a 0.50% concession on both schemes. SBI’s rates are floating for the whole loan and linked to its external benchmark rate (EBR), which the rate page gives as the repo rate of 5.50% plus a spread of 2.65%, or 8.15%. Union Bank’s external benchmark lending rate (EBLR) on its sheet is 8.25%: repo 5.50% plus 2.75%. When RBI changes the repo rate, these rates change with it. RBI leaves the rate on an education loan to each bank’s board (RBI FAQ, question 4).

Do not use the 9.15% to 9.65% that SBI’s rate page shows for select institutions: none of them is Russian. Bank of Baroda’s Baroda Scholar page showed 0.00% in every effective-rate cell on 18 October 2026, an error on the page, and only the spreads over its repo-linked lending rate could be read. PNB Udaan’s rate link opens PNB’s general lending-rate page, which has no Udaan row, and Canara’s rate page loads its figures by script and could not be read. Ask those three banks for the rate in writing.

When repayment starts

From SBI’s repayment page, the Student Loan page, Baroda Scholar, PNB Udaan, Canara, Union Education and MELS 2022, checked 18 October 2026.

Plan for the months after graduation

Under FMGL-2021, which applies to students who began their course abroad on or after 18 November 2021 (NMC FAQ), the graduate has two steps left in India after the degree: pass FMGE, then do a 12-month supervised internship in India. The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) sets the FMGE dates, and not every candidate passes at the first sitting. Our FMGE exam page has the session dates and the national pass figures with candidate counts. The internship is explained on our internship in India page. So the first EMI can fall due before the graduate earns as a doctor in India, and at SBI it comes 6 months after the course ends. What the banks and MELS offer for this:

• ›Pay the interest during the course. Unpaid interest is added to the principal before the EMI is fixed. SBI fixes the EMI on the principal alone if the full interest is serviced before repayment starts (repayment page), and Union Bank gives a rebate for paying interest before repayment.
• ›Ask for stepped-up instalments. MELS 2022 says salaries at the start of a career may not cover a level EMI for professionals like doctors, and that banks may consider instalments that rise over time.
• ›Ask about breaks for unemployment. MELS 2022 lets banks allow a moratorium for spells of unemployment or under-employment, up to 6 months at a time, two or three times over the life of the loan.
• ›If the course runs late, MELS 2022 and SBI's MITC allow the course period to be extended by up to 2 years; at SBI you ask before the moratorium ends.

If an EMI is missed

SBI’s repayment page charges 2.40% a year on the irregular amount for up to 60 days and 5% a year beyond that. It classes an account with dues unpaid for up to 30 days as a special mention account (SMA-0), more than 30 days as SMA-1, more than 60 days as SMA-2, and more than 90 days as a non-performing asset (NPA). Bank of Baroda charges penal interest of 2% a year on overdue amounts for loans above ₹4 lakh. MELS 2022 tells banks to report every education loan to credit information companies, so the repayment record reaches the credit bureaus. Prepaying costs nothing at SBI, PNB and Canara, and MELS 2022 says no prepayment penalty should be charged.

Government interest subsidies do not cover an MBBS abroad

Four central schemes come up when families ask about subsidised loans. None of them helps with an MBBS in Russia.

• ›PM-Vidyalaxmi: collateral-free, guarantor-free loans, a 75% credit guarantee on loans up to ₹7.50 lakh, and a 3% interest subvention for family income up to ₹8 lakh on loans up to ₹10 lakh (Cabinet approval, 6 November 2024). It applies only to designated Quality Higher Education Institutions in India, 1,425 of them according to the Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) backgrounder of 29 July 2026, which says foreign education institutions “are not covered under the scheme”.
• ›Central Scheme for Interest Subsidy (CSIS): the full interest during the moratorium for students with family income up to ₹4.5 lakh, on loans up to ₹10 lakh, for recognised technical and professional courses in India only (SBI’s CSIS page; PIB, 6 November 2024).
• ›The Dr. Ambedkar Central Sector Scheme of Interest Subsidy for students from Other Backward Classes and Economically Backward Classes (ACSIS), and Padho Pardesh for students from minority communities: both subsidise interest on loans for study abroad at Masters, M.Phil and Ph.D level only. An IBA letter of 9 May 2023 (No. RB&SB/C/2023/0091), published by SBI, told banks not to accept fresh ACSIS applications until further guidelines.

Scholarships are a separate route. The Russian Government scholarship, and how its 2026-27 selection worked, is on our MBBS in Russia page.

Tax on interest and fees sent abroad

The deduction on interest you pay

Interest on an education loan from a bank is deductible from taxable income, under the old tax regime only. The section number changed on 1 April 2026: the Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed that day, and the Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from tax year 2026-27 (Income Tax Department FAQ). For income up to 31 March 2026 the deduction is section 80E, which the department lists among deductions for old-regime taxpayers. From 1 April 2026 it is section 129 of the new Act (page last reviewed 8 October 2026). SBI’s pages and PIB’s July 2026 backgrounder still say 80E. Section 129 allows the deduction when:

• ›you, an individual, took the loan from a bank to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 applies, from a financial institution the Central Government has notified, or from an approved charitable institution;
• ›the loan is for the higher education of yourself, your spouse or children, or a student for whom you are legal guardian; higher education means any course after the Senior Secondary examination, and the section adds no India-only condition;
• ›you pay the interest out of income chargeable to tax.

The deduction runs for the tax year in which you start paying interest and the seven tax years after it, or until the interest is paid off, whichever is earlier. The section sets no cap on the amount. A loan from a relative, an employer or an NBFC the government has not notified gets no deduction. Under section 202, the default new regime, total income is computed without this deduction, so you have to opt for the old regime under section 202(4) to claim it. The section speaks of a loan “taken by him”, so where a parent pays the EMIs as co-borrower, ask a tax adviser who should claim.

TCS when fees go abroad

Under RBI’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), a resident individual may send up to USD 2,50,000 abroad each financial year (April to March), and “Studies abroad” is one of the listed purposes. PAN is mandatory (RBI LRS FAQ, updated 6 April 2023). Under section 394 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the bank takes no tax collected at source (TCS) when the money remitted is a loan from a bank or notified financial institution for education. Other LRS remittances for education carry TCS of 2% where the amount, or the total of amounts, exceeds ₹10 lakh. Ask your bank how it will compute TCS on the part your family pays from its own funds.

If the bank refuses or delays

• ›MELS 2022 asks banks to communicate a sanction or rejection within 15 days of a complete application, and to reject only with the agreement of the next higher authority, telling you the reason.
• ›A bank may not refuse because you live outside its service area, and may not take collateral on a loan up to ₹4 lakh (RBI FAQ).
• ›Complain to the bank first. If it does not reply within 30 days, or you are not satisfied with its reply, complain to the RBI Ombudsman online at cms.rbi.org.in, within 90 days of the end of those 30 days or of the bank’s last reply, whichever is later. That is the rule under the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, in force since 1 July 2026 (RBI’s FAQ on the scheme, question 17). RBI’s 2023 education-loan FAQ still names the 2021 scheme it replaced.

Questions to ask the bank before you sign

1. Do my university and course qualify, and which documents do you accept as proof of a merit-based admission?
2. Which margin, processing fee and rate will the sanction letter show? SBI’s scheme page and its MITC differ on the Global Ed-Vantage margin and processing fee.
3. On what date does my first EMI fall due? Please put it in the sanction letter.
4. Can you pay the university in Russia directly, and through which channel? Union Bank pays the institute directly, and SBI and Bank of Baroda disburse to the institution where they can, but none of the documents we read deals with payments to banks in Russia.
5. Will you disburse before the visa is issued, and what do you need before the second disbursement?
6. Is insurance on the student mandatory, and can the premium be added to the loan?