Date:29/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/29/stories/2006122904520500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Discount on rating fee

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: SME Rating Agency of India Limited (SMERA), a rating agency for small and medium enterprises, is offering a 20 per cent discount on the rating fee to units applying for the certification, up to January 15.

For small0scale units routing their application under the National Small Industries Corporation-SMERA scheme, under which up to 75 per cent of the rating fee is subsidised, the discount will be on the fee after the subsidy. Announcing this at a meeting here on Wednesday, SMERA chief executive officer Rajesh Dubey said the rating offered several benefits to the small and medium enterprises.

Units with a good rating could use it as a negotiating instrument for getting finance from the banks on better terms. Since September last year, SMERA had completed around 325 ratings.