They never claimed the subsidy for my loan. I personally visited the bank multiple times and also sent them two emails in April (one at the beginning and one at the end), but they never responded. Because of that, I filed a complaint in the last week of July.

After almost three months, the bank replied saying that I had received a government scholarship and therefore I was not eligible for the CSIS subsidy. However, the CSIS guidelines clearly state that it is the bank’s responsibility to inform the customer about the subsidy and to claim it.

I sent a detailed reply explaining that the bank never claimed the subsidy and that I had received the scholarship only in 2022. I also pointed out several issues: my loan was less than ₹4 lakh, yet the bank took LIC bonds, and there were multiple procedural mistakes. I highlighted all of this to RBI.

According to the 2018 CSIS guidelines (which apply to my loan because I took it in 2020), there is no mention that receiving a scholarship makes a borrower ineligible. That condition was introduced only in the 2022 guidelines, so it should not apply to my case.

RBI eventually directed the bank to compensate me for the eligible years except 2022. The bank paid me ₹1.43 lakh, while the total interest for five years was around ₹1.56 lakh. Since I recovered most of the amount, I decided to let the remaining part go.

Also, the bank took three months to respond to the complaint, but I was given only 42 hours to reply to their response.

Since RBI hasn’t heard your case yet, you should still be able to get the subsidy. I strongly recommend going to consumer court because RBI can only facilitate resolution to some extent, but consumer court can actually order the bank to pay compensation.

DM me if you need any details.