India launches Corporate Mitra initiative to support MSME compliance

The Indian government has launched the ‘Corporate Mitra’ initiative to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with regulatory and financial compliance. Announced in the Union Budget 2026-27, the program aims to transform compliance from a burden into a tool for transparency and orderly growth by creating a pool of trained, certified paraprofessionals.

These professionals will provide affordable support in areas such as accounting, taxation, banking, legal, and cost management. The initiative is a collaborative effort involving the professional expertise of 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), alongside technical and academic support from IIT Madras, IIT Madras Pravartak, and SWAYAM Plus.

The Corporate Mitra course is a 12-month program consisting of two stages: six months of structured academic learning via recorded lectures, followed by six months of on-the-job training within professional firms. The first batch has already seen 2,879 learners register for the program.