India’s company boards need governance experts as much as they need auditors. One statutory body alone trains, certifies, and disciplines every Company Secretary who fills that role.
Timeline
- 4 October 1968: The government sets up the ICSI, as a company under the Companies Act, 1956, to run Company Secretaryship exams.
- 1 January 1981: ICSI becomes a full statutory body, under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
- 25 March 2026: ICSI invites its own members to give feedback on the newly introduced Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
- 16 July 2026: ICSI formally asks the government to widen mandatory Company Secretary appointments.
Structure and the Regulatory Mandate Need to Know
- The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is India’s statutory body for the Company Secretary profession.
- It began on 4 October 1968, as a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956.
- It became a full statutory body on 1 January 1981, under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
- ICSI functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the same ministry that oversees ICAI.
- ICSI now has over 80,000 members, and around 250,000 students enrolled across the country.
- Its headquarters sit in New Delhi, with regional offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
Training, Exams, and Powers Good to Know
- To qualify, a candidate must clear three stages in order: Foundation, Executive, and Professional.
- After the Executive or Professional stage, a candidate completes 15 months of practical management training.
- On finishing training and the Professional exam, ICSI admits the candidate as an Associate Member.
- Section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013 makes secretarial audit mandatory for listed companies, and other large firms.
- Only a Company Secretary in practice, an ICSI member holding a certificate of practice, can conduct this audit.
- ICSI is the only body in India legally authorised to award the Company Secretary qualification.
Test Yourself
Among India’s Professional Regulators Great to Know
- ICSI is one of three statutory professional bodies under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, alongside the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India.
- All three share a similar design: a member-elected Council, a smaller share of government nominees, and their own disciplinary machinery.
- Unlike ICAI, ICSI has no separate oversight body shadowing its work. The National Financial Reporting Authority’s jurisdiction covers auditors, not company secretaries.
- On 16 July 2026, ICSI itself proposed widening Rule 8A, so companies with over ₹50 crore in borrowings must also hire a whole-time Company Secretary.
- That would extend the rule well past its current trigger, a private company’s paid-up share capital crossing ₹10 crore.
Current Affairs
- 16 July 2026: ICSI asks the government to widen mandatory Company Secretary appointments.
- ICSI’s own representation to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs recommends covering companies with more than ₹50 crore in outstanding borrowings, not just paid-up capital. (Source: SCC Online)
- The current Rule 8A threshold only covers private companies with paid-up share capital of ₹10 crore or more. (Source: SCC Online)
- 25 March 2026: ICSI invites its own members to give feedback on the newly introduced Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
- The same Bill also carries the new NFRA-registration provision affecting ICAI, confirming both institutes are responding to one shared reform package. (Source: Taxscan)
- The Bill proposes decriminalising several minor corporate offences, replacing some jail terms with civil monetary penalties instead. (Source: Taxscan)
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