{
  "id": 183978,
  "title": "How an IIM Lucknow alum cut her ₹40 lakh MBA loan to ₹17 lakh with side hustles",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/how-an-iim-lucknow-alum-cut-her-40-lakh-mba-loan-to-17-lakh-with-side",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-05T17:31:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/trends/how-an-iim-lucknow-alum-cut-her-40-lakh-mba-loan-to-17-lakh-with-side-hustles-11785949564945.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Management graduate Sneha Baidya, an alumna of the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, made headlines by reducing her ₹40 lakh MBA loan to ₹17 lakh through structured financial planning and side hustles. In a viral Instagram post, Baidya detailed her expenses, stating that her MBA cost around ₹28 lakh, with term fees around ₹3.25 lakh and miscellaneous expenses totaling ₹3 lakh. She attributed her ability to reduce her loan to additional income earned through her summer internship, live projects, freelancing, and side hustles during her MBA. Despite receiving a PPO, Baidya continued to work on side projects to further minimize her loan burden. Her post garnered numerous responses, with users asking about her repayment experience and financial struggles.",
  "summary": "Sharing a detailed breakdown of her MBA expenses, Sneha Baidya said the total cost of her education came to around ₹28 lakh.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}