The demand for company secretaries in India is on the rise and it is outstripping supply, according to R. Sridharan, President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

“Every year we see between 1,800 and 2,000 graduates completing the company secretary examinations. But the demand is much more,” he told mediapersons here today.

During placements in New Delhi a week ago, fresh company secretaries were hired by corporates and institutions with an annual salary package ranging from ₹8.5 lakh to ₹15 lakh.

He said the institute was concerned about the new rule in the Company Secretaries Act 2013 that mandates the appointment of a company secretary only for listed companies and public companies with a paid-up capital of over ₹10 crore.

Private companies, which constitute 93 per cent of the active companies, have no specific requirement for a company secretary.

Sridharan said the institute had represented the matter to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which has assured that necessary amendments would be made. He, however, did not think that the new rules would render some company secretaries jobless.

The institute has introduced some changes in the examination for students, including a computer-based examination for the foundation programme from June. The institute switched to online enrolment for the examination last October.

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