ICAI's New Scheme for the CA Course: Subjects, Exams and Articleship

When the new scheme started

ICAI notified the new scheme in the Gazette of India on 22 June 2023, and it came into effect on 1 July 2023. ICAI's announcement of 23 June 2023 set these dates for the changeover:

Exam months have changed since then. Foundation and Intermediate exams are now held three times a year, in January, May and September (FAQ, Q 2.11 and Q 3.9). CA Final exams, which were also held in January, May and September, are held twice a year, in May and November, from the May 2026 exam onwards (ICAI announcement, 6 April 2026).

ICAI updates its FAQs and Prospectus from time to time, so check the New Scheme page and the exam announcement for your session before you register or apply.

Main changes from the old scheme

• Shorter articleship: 2 years instead of 3 (FAQ, Q 5.5).
• Fewer Final papers: the old Final course had eight papers, with Paper 6 offered as a choice of six subjects, 6A to 6F (ICAI Final syllabus, 2021). Its Paper 4, Corporate and Economic Laws, and Paper 5, Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation, are no longer exam papers: the new scheme has the compulsory modules SET A, Corporate and Economic Laws, and SET B, Strategic Cost & Performance Management, and a new Paper 6, the Integrated Business Solutions case study (FAQ, Q 4.3 and Q 7.2).
• Self-Paced Online Modules: four module tests, introduced with the new scheme, that you must qualify before the Final exam (FAQ, Q 7.1 and Q 4.5).
• Business Accounting Associate (BAA) certificate: once you have passed both Intermediate groups and completed practical training, Advanced ICITSS and the applicable modules, you can apply for this certificate; passing the Final is not one of the conditions (FAQ, Q 8.1).

CA Foundation subjects

Source: ICAI FAQs (Q 2.9) and ICAI's Foundation syllabus page (checked 6 October 2026).

• Question type: Papers 1 and 2 are subjective; Papers 3 and 4 are objective, with 0.25 mark deducted for every wrong answer (FAQ, Q 2.12 and Q 2.13).
• Duration: Papers 1 and 2 last 3 hours and Papers 3 and 4 last 2 hours (ICAI exam announcement, 2 May 2026).
• Passing: at least 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of all four papers, at one sitting (FAQ, Q 2.14).

CA Intermediate subjects

Source: ICAI FAQs (Q 3.13) and ICAI's Intermediate syllabus page (checked 6 October 2026).

• Question type: every paper has 30% case-scenario or case-study based MCQs and 70% descriptive questions, and there is no negative marking (FAQ, Q 3.16 and Q 3.17).
• Duration: 3 hours for each paper (ICAI exam announcement, 2 May 2026).
• You can write one group at a time, but you register for both groups together (FAQ, Q 3.12).

CA Final subjects and Self-Paced Online Modules

Source: ICAI FAQs (Q 4.3), ICAI's Final syllabus page (checked 6 October 2026) and ICAI's Final Course syllabus under the new scheme (Paper 5 parts).

Papers 1 to 5 have 30% case-based MCQs and 70% descriptive questions; Paper 6 has 40% MCQs (10 marks in each 25-mark case study). There is no negative marking. Paper 6 is an open-book exam lasting 4 hours; Papers 1 to 5 are closed-book and last 3 hours (FAQ, Q 4.7 to Q 4.9; ICAI exam announcement, 2 May 2026).

The four Self-Paced Online Modules are part of the Final level. You register for them with the Final course, at no extra fee (FAQ, Q 7.3):

• SET A: Corporate and Economic Laws (compulsory)
• SET B: Strategic Cost & Performance Management (compulsory)
• SET C: one elective out of ten, such as Risk Management, International Taxation or Valuation
• SET D: one multidisciplinary subject out of four, such as Entrepreneurship and Start-Up Ecosystem

Each module carries 100 marks. You qualify a module with at least 50% marks, with no limit on attempts, and module marks are not added to your Final exam marks (FAQ, Q 7.2, Q 7.7 and Q 7.9). The full list of electives, the paper-by-paper comparison with the old syllabus and the rules for students who started under the old scheme are in our guide to CA Final subjects under the new scheme.

Passing marks and exemptions

For Intermediate and Final, ICAI applies the same rules (FAQ, Q 3.18, Q 3.19, Q 4.10 and Q 4.11):

• Passing one group: at least 40% in each paper of the group and 50% in the aggregate of that group, at one sitting. You can pass the two groups in different sittings.
• Passing both groups together: at least 40% in each paper, and either 50% in the aggregate of each group or 50% in the aggregate of all papers of both groups taken together.
• Exemption: if you appear in all papers of a group and fail it, any paper in which you scored 60% or more is exempted for the next three exams. You then need 40% in each remaining paper and 50% in the aggregate including the exempted paper.
• After those three exams: you may keep the exemption, but you then need at least 50% in each remaining paper of that group.

Each level's total marks follow from 100 marks per paper: 400 for Foundation, and 600 each for Intermediate and Final.

Registration rules at each level

Source: ICAI FAQs, Q 2.1, 2.2, 2.7, 2.15, 2.16, 3.9, 3.10, 3.20, 4.1, 4.2 and 4.12.

Direct entry to Intermediate is open to commerce graduates or post-graduates with at least 55% marks, other graduates or post-graduates with at least 60%, and students who have passed the Intermediate level of ICSI or ICMAI (FAQ, Q 3.3).

Articleship under the new scheme

Practical training (articleship) lasts 2 years under the new scheme, against 3 years under the old scheme (FAQ, Q 5.2 and Q 5.5). The main rules:

• It starts only after you pass both Intermediate groups and complete the four-week ICITSS (FAQ, Q 5.1).
• You may spend 9 to 12 months in the last part of the 2 years as an industrial trainee (FAQ, Q 5.3).
• You get 12 days of leave in each year of training (FAQ, Q 5.4).
• You can sit the Final exam only if your training was completed six months before the first day of the exam month (FAQ, Q 4.5).

Registration, stipend and finding a firm are covered in our CA articleship guide, and how these periods add up to the minimum time to qualify is explained in how long it takes to become a CA.

ICITSS and Advanced ICITSS (MCS and Advanced IT)

The scheme has two compulsory skills courses of four weeks each (FAQ, Q 6.1 to Q 6.3). ICAI's Prospectus gives these fees, which are for non-residential batches and include course material:

Each part is scheduled over 15 working days, with 6 hours of classes a day (at least 6 for the two IT courses). You register and pay for a batch on ICAI's portal, icaionlineregistration.org. Instead of the MCS course, you can attend ICAI's optional four-week residential programme on professional skills development, which costs ₹48,000 including boarding and lodging (ICAI Prospectus, June 2025). For every fee from Foundation to Final, see the CA course fee structure.