ICSI sees over one lakh company secretaries needed as MSME listings rise: President Pawan
Hyderabad, Aug 23 (TNT): India could require more than one lakh Company Secretaries if the share of listed MSMEs rises to 35 per cent from the present seven per cent, ICSI National President Pawan G Chandak said on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference after inaugurating the new Hyderabad Chapter building of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) here, Pawan said the growing formalisation and listing of MSMEs, along with expanding corporate governance and compliance requirements, would create significant opportunities for Company Secretaries.
He said the ICSI currently has around 80,600 members and 2.5 lakh students across the country, while its Hyderabad Chapter has around 2,300 members and 3,000 students.
“While there are around 1.3 lakh Corporate Governance Professionals globally, India alone has 80,600 Company Secretaries,” he said, describing Company Secretaries as corporate governance professionals.
The ICSI has 77 chapters across India, including 15 in the southern region, of which 13 have their own land and buildings, he said.
The Institute is also planning to establish a European Union Centre in the Netherlands, Pawan said.
The new Hyderabad Chapter building at Anandnagar Colony, Khairatabad in the city, has been developed at a cost of around Rs 10 crore. The approximately 10,200-sq-ft, five-storey facility, comprising four floors and a stilt floor, will support professional education, training, examinations, meetings and capacity-building programmes.
Pawan said the new facility would enable the Hyderabad Chapter to expand its professional, educational and stakeholder-engagement activities.
He said the ICSI was expanding its focus beyond conventional Company Secretarial education and compliance to areas including corporate governance, sustainability, capital markets, dispute resolution, MSMEs, social auditing and international business.
The Institute has introduced specialised courses and capacity-building programmes covering areas such as IFSC-related fund management, capital market intermediaries, UAE business management, corporate and securities market compliance, online dispute resolution, digital arbitration and mediation, he said.
The ICSI is also strengthening its focus on ESG and climate governance through initiatives including the ICSI Guiding Principles on Stewardship, principles on climate change governance and a stakeholder engagement toolkit on ESG, he said
He said the Institute would hold its 54th National Convention of Company Secretaries in Bhubaneswar from September 5 to 7 on the theme “NextGen CS – Catalyst of Growth & Guardian of Governance”.
The ICSI Global Governance Conference is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on January 8-9, 2027, while the 26th ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance will also be held on January 8.
The ICSI has overseas centres in Australia, Canada, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the US and is pursuing initiatives to expand international collaboration.
Under its Academic Connect programme, the Institute is collaborating with IIMs, IIT Madras, National Law Universities and other institutions to enhance professional education and skills, he informed.
The ICSI has also undertaken initiatives to improve access to professional education through fee waivers and concessions for specified categories of students, besides facilitating education loans, he said.
It has partnered with NABARD to create awareness among NGOs about India’s Social Stock Exchange and is conducting an SME awareness drive with SEBI. Its Corporate Mitra Scheme, in partnership with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, seeks to create trained paraprofessionals to support MSMEs in compliance and related services, he said.
The Institute has also registered as a Professional Institution (Anchor Entity) under the Prime Minister Internship Scheme, enabling registered Company Secretary firms to offer internship opportunities to young people, Pawan added.
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