Dredging Corporation of India, subsidiary of the Indian Government with current market cap of Rs. 620 crore, has entered the debt capital market on 7^th March 2013,  with a public issue of Tax Free Bonds of face value of Rs.1,000 each, in the nature of Secured Redeemable Non Convertible Debentures. Issue, closing on 15^th March, has a size of Rs.500 crore. Bonds, rated AA+ by BRICKWORK and AA by CARE, indicating highest degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations, are proposed to be listed on BSE.

The current bonds are being offered under a single series with features as under:-

*Individuals and HUFs can apply for a maximum of Rs. 10 lakh

Bonds are to be issued both in physical and dematerialized form, hence a demat account is not necessary to buy these bonds. Also, the bonds do not have any lock-in period.

These bonds are comparable to 10.81% pre-tax return earned on other fixed income instruments, assuming the highest tax bracket of 30.9% for retail individuals, which is not very attractive vis-a-vis HUDCO bonds which are currently open for subscription. Moreover, the tenure is also lower at 10 years, as against 15 years for host of other offerings currently open.  

Thus, on account of poor coupon rates and shorter tenure, one can give this issue a miss!