About the nature of government bonds to be issued to investors, who opt to redeem their units against them under the government bailout package, Damodaran says: “Our impression is that the bonds will be the 7-per cent Government of India Tax-free Bonds 2002. The government is still working out the modalities and we still do not know the exact type of the bonds that will be offered to investors. We are likely to be informed about [the nature of the bonds] soon.”

On whether US-64 will become Securities and Exchange Board of India-compliant by UTI’s self-imposed deadline of December 2002, he says: “We said we would become net asset value-based, and we have done that. We said we would meet all redemption commitments, and we have done that. If UTI has given a commitment, it will fulfil it.”