The Hindu Business Line : Enterprises in South keen to get rated by SMERA

SMALL and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the South have grabbed the opportunity to be rated by the SME Rating Agency of India Ltd (SMERA) by dominating the list of units that have applied to the agency in the first month of its operations. (SMERA was inaugurated by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, in Coimbatore on September 5.)

Among the SMEs in the South, the largest number of units that have opted for rating are the hosiery units in Tirupur. This rating could be used as a benchmark to get financial assistance on favourable terms from lending institutions.

According to Mr Rajesh Dubey, Chief Executive Officer, SMERA, Mumbai, of the 180 applications received for rating by SMERA from across the country till October 19, 150 came from SMEs in the South, followed by 16 from the North and 14 from the West. There were none from the East.

Tamil Nadu accounted for the largest number from the South, with 105 SMEs seeking to be rated. Among these, the highest number — 50 applications — came from Tirupur, the hosiery and garment industry capital of the country. Chennai came second, with 30 applications, and Coimbatore third, with 25.

Mr Dubey said he was happy with the response from the South. In other parts of the country, SMERA has not received much response and the institution was making efforts to create more awareness about its operations. Asked about the reasons for the good response for rating from SMEs in the South, he said: "The response from the South has been better, mainly thanks to the coverage given by the media in the South."

Mr Dubey said the inaugural offer of rating fee of Rs 7,500 plus taxes (@10.2 per cent) ended on October 31, 2005. The revised rating fee structure is: Category A (net worth {gt} Rs 20 crore) — Rs 50,000; Category B (net worth Rs 5 to Rs 20 crore) — Rs 37,500; Category C (net worth Rs 1 to Rs 5 crore) — Rs 25,000; Category D (net worth up to Rs 1 crore) — Rs 15,000.

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