« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  ITR Filing 2025: These individuals are exempt from paying tax. Do they need to file returns?  Full List Of Trump's Reciprocal Tariffs Announced Wednesday  Top 5 tax-saving investment options for salaried individuals to consider before March 31, 2025  5 lesser lesser-known avenues of tax saving you can use to save income tax before March 31, 2025  March 15 is deadline for last advance tax installment: Know if you must pay «  E-filing of stamp papers soon... VAT exemption for tobacco products hailed... » ICAI to open 12 new centres of excellence August, 21st 2007 The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is contemplating the setting up of 12 centres of excellence for chartered accountants (CAs) across the country within two years.   The centres would enhance the capability, quality and performance of CAs in the country.   According to Uttam Prakash Agarwal, chairman of the committee for members in the industry in the ICAI, a number of courses including general management communication will be introduced once these centres are set up.   He added such a centre of excellence has already been opened in Hyderabad and another one is being set-up in Mumbai. In the last three years, the number of CAs in the country has gone up by 30 per cent. There are 140,000 CAs in India and over 400,000 students are enroled in a CA course.   Still, the industry faces a shortage of 50,000 CAs, Agarwal said.He added that the era when chartered accountants were supposed to restrict themselves to accounting, auditing and taxation was over.   Today, the ambit of the the profession had expanded with the inclusion of sectors like asset management, retailing sector, human resource and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) as well as business process outsourcing (BPO).