The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICoAI), has commenced the first batch of the Corporate Mitra Course with 2,879 registered learners. The program was officially launched at an event at the ICAI Head Office in New Delhi attended by senior MCA officials including Joint Secretary Anita Shah Akella and Director-PI Mahendra Kumar, along with leadership from all three professional institutes.
The Corporate Mitra initiative was originally announced in the Union Budget 2026-27 with the objective of creating a pool of trained and certified paraprofessionals to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in managing business and regulatory compliances. The program brings together the professional expertise of ICAI, ICSI, and ICoAI with technology and academic support from IIT Madras, IIT Madras Pravartak, and SWAYAM Plus.
The course has a total duration of 12 months divided into two distinct stages. The first six months comprise approximately 150 hours of structured academic learning delivered through recorded video lectures via the Corporate Mitra Learning Management System (LMS). This is followed by six months of on-the-job training in professional firms of members of ICAI, ICSI, and ICoAI, providing learners with hands-on workplace experience. The academic component is designed to provide a 360-degree understanding of MSME operations and support requirements, featuring expert-led recorded lectures, reference material, assessments, announcements, FAQs, and discussion forums.
Joint Secretary Anita Shah Akella stated that Corporate Mitra seeks to make compliance less intimidating and knowledge more accessible for entrepreneurs, emphasizing that the initiative aims to transform compliance from a burden into an enabler of trust, transparency, accountability, and orderly growth. The program is intended to promote ease of doing business, employment generation, and inclusive economic growth by creating a skilled cadre of certified para-professionals who can provide affordable professional support to MSMEs.