The Government of India has modified the existing scheme of Relief Bonds to provide for the issue of bonds in a dematerialised (demat) form. Called 'Bond Ledger Account', the facility is accompanied by the decentralised servicing at the receiving offices and meets the long felt need of the investors for a bond in dematerialised form without the hassels associated with the paper form of holding Relief Bond.

The facility of Bond Ledger Account has also been made available to the investors in Relief Bond at 714 branches of public sector banks designated at present as receiving offices in addition to 14 public debt offices of the Reserve Bank of India. The receiving offices will open the Bond Ledger Accounts in their books in the name of the investors with the amount of investment and pay interest periodically by credit to the bank accounts of the holders or by issue of interest warrants. A 'Certificate of Holding' will be given to the holder evidencing the holding of bonds at the branch in the Bond Ledger Account. The Bond Ledger Accounts also offer the facility of transferability and nomination. The holders can also make additional investments in Relief Bonds, which would be accounted in the same Bond Ledger Account. The application for bonds in the form of Promissory Note will, however, be issued only at the offices of the Reserve Bank of India.

While the Bond Ledger Account affords protection against loss/theft with the facility of servicing at the bank branch nearest to the investor, the Reserve Bank offices at 14 centres will continue to receive the applications both, for Bond Ledger Account and Promissory Note form, for investing in Relief Bonds.

The notification and application forms are available at all the branches of the public sector banks, the Reserve Bank of India and also on the website of the Reserve Bank of India. The notification and application forms for Relief Bonds can be directly accessed through URL: www.goirb.rbi.org.in.