Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI): Role, Vision, Mission and Structure

ICSI at a glance

Member and student numbers come from ICSI's 46th Annual Report for 2025-26, published in the Gazette of India on 22 September 2026. The other details are from ICSI's website (About page, organisation chart and footer).

Vision, mission and motto

ICSI's Motto, Vision & Mission page states:

• Vision: "To be a global leader in promoting Good Corporate Governance"
• Mission: "To develop high calibre professionals facilitating good Corporate Governance"
• Motto: सत्यं वद, धर्मं चर ("Speak the Truth, Pursue Righteousness")

How ICSI was set up

The Company Secretaries Act, 1980 is "An Act to make provision for the regulation and development of the profession of Company Secretaries". Under section 3, everyone on the Institute's Register of members forms a body corporate named the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Before the Act, an Institute of the same name existed as a company registered under the Companies Act; the Act calls it the "dissolved company", and its members carried over to the new statutory Institute.

How ICSI is governed: the Council

Section 9 of the Act sets up a Council to manage the Institute's affairs. It is made up of:

• up to 15 elected members, chosen by ICSI's members from among its Fellows, from regional constituencies;
• up to 5 members nominated by the Central Government.

Nobody holding a post under the Central or a State Government can be elected to the Council. ICSI's Council page currently lists five Government nominees, including a Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Council elected CS Pawan G. Chandak as President and CS Dwarakanath Chennur as Vice-President with effect from 19 January 2026 (Annual Report 2025-26).

Each of the four regions also has its own Regional Council (EIRC, NIRC, SIRC and WIRC). ICSI's organisation chart shows its departments, such as examinations, academics, training and student services, alongside the regional offices and overseas centres.

Regional offices, chapters and overseas centres

ICSI has four regional offices, each with chapters in its region. The cities below are examples from ICSI's organisation chart.

ICSI's About page puts the total at 73 chapter offices; check the organisation chart for the current list, as new chapters are added. ICSI also runs four Centres for Corporate Governance, Research and Training (CCGRTs) in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Manesar, and has six overseas centres in Australia, Canada, Singapore, the UAE, the UK and the USA.

What ICSI does

• Runs the CS exams. CSEET is held three times a year, in the first week of February, June and October (ICSI's restructured CSEET FAQs, September 2026). CS Executive and CS Professional exams are held in June and December sessions (Student Services FAQs, April 2026).
• Sets and supervises training. Students complete short induction programmes, a 30-day Executive Development Programme (EDP), 21 months of long-term practical training and a 30-day Corporate Leadership Development Programme (CLDP), as set out in the Student Training Guidelines 2024.
• Admits members. It keeps the Register of members and admits Associates and Fellows (sections 3 to 5 of the Act).
• Issues certificates of practice. No member may practise, in India or elsewhere, without a certificate of practice from the Council (section 6).
• Handles discipline. A Disciplinary Directorate investigates complaints and information about members' misconduct, and cases then go to the Board of Discipline or the Disciplinary Committee (section 21 of the Act, as substituted in 2022).
• Runs investor education. The 2022 amendment added "to conduct investor education and awareness programmes" to the Council's functions.
• Publishes the Chartered Secretary. ICSI's monthly journal, launched in 1971 (Annual Report 2025-26).
• Has set up specialised bodies, including the ICSI Institute of Insolvency Professionals, the ICSI Registered Valuers Organisation and the ICSI International ADR Centre (organisation chart).

The CS course run by ICSI

To become a Company Secretary you register with ICSI and pass three stages:

1. CSEET, the entrance test (four papers). Graduates and some other groups can skip it and join CS Executive directly.
2. CS Executive: 7 papers in two groups.
3. CS Professional: 7 papers in two groups, including two electives.

You also complete the compulsory training described above before applying for membership. For eligibility, papers, exemptions and the training timeline, see our guide to the CS course: levels, eligibility, papers and training. For registration fees and cut-off dates, see CS course fees, registration and cut-off dates.

Members: ACS, FCS and certificate of practice

Under the Act, a person who has passed the prescribed examinations and completed the prescribed training can have their name entered in the Register of members.

• Associate (ACS): every new member becomes an Associate and may use the letters "A.C.S." after their name (section 5).
• Fellow (FCS): an Associate can apply to become a Fellow after at least five years of continuous practice in India as a Company Secretary, or after being an Associate continuously for at least five years with the qualifications or experience the Council prescribes. Fellows use "F.C.S." (section 5).
• Certificate of practice: needed by any member who wants to practise (section 6). The annual fee is set by the Council.

According to the Annual Report 2025-26, ICSI's members and students were spread across the regions as follows on 31 March 2026:

If you are still deciding between CS, CA and CMA, our comparison of CA, CS and CMA sets the three courses side by side, and company secretary jobs in India covers where members work.