Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said students could avail educational loans from nationalised banks through online registration from the current academic year.

Inaugurating the 1327th branch of the Oriental Bank of Commerce at Singampunari near here, Mr. Chidambaram said online was a unique way to simplify the procedures for availing bank loans for education.

Initially six to seven nationalised banks in the country would provide online loan applications from this year and before end of the year, it would be extended to all the nationalised banks, he added.

The Finance Minister further said during the last financial year, the nationalised banks in the country had issued educational loans to 12,51,692 students to the tune of Rs 19,771 crore.

''It is not an Indian record, but a world record. No country in the world has issued a whopping Rs 20,000 crore as educational loans in the history,'' he claimed.

''The education loan goes to the poor, farmers and middle class people. It doesn't require any sureties, witnesses or documents. I have strictly instructed the banks to issue educational loans after obtaining a signature from the applicants,'' he said.

Stating that due importance given to the education by the Congress-led UPA Government that had created an interest among the students, particularly rural students to pursue higher studies, he said and appealed to them not to hesitate in availing educational loans.

There was a fear factor among the students, whether the banks would issue loans to them or not. The banks would not violate the government orders and provide loans to all the eligible students, he added.