The scheme, branded "Anytime Facility", was launched on July 1, 1998."This scheme is aimed at investors at the retail level who would want to convert their bond holdings into cash to meet some unforeseen emergency. They would also have the option of buying bonds at any time they want which will offer them flexibility regarding the time of investment," a senior ICICI official said.

The facility is open only to resident Indian individuals, Hindu undivided families and trusts which are authorised to invest in these bonds.

A maximum of 50 bonds can be bought or sold per investor per day.

"This is to avoid speculative bids by investors," the official said.

ICICI has, however, said that it reserves the right to reject any application without assigning any reason. The newscheme, expected to benefit at least 10 lakh investors, is currently available in Mumbai alone.

It is in addition to the market-making facility provided by ICICI for select options of ICICI safety bonds on the National Stock Exchange.

ICICI officials are gung-ho about the new scheme.

"The first lot of applications has already started trickling in," an ICICI official said.

"We decided to launch this scheme based on investor feedback. Investors have told us that all our debt programmes are very sporadic and most times they do not have the resources to subscribe to the bonds. There have also been complaints about NSE brokers not undertaking transactions for investors due to low volumes. We have, therefore, offered to buy bonds from the investors and sell them back to them," the official said.