Adoption of innovation and Artificial Intelligence is no longer a choice, but are essential part of business, India’s youngest chartered accountant Nandini Agarwal tells ICAI Dubai Chapter members on the Chartered Accountants Day
As Indian corporates mature, time has come for them to expand globally either organically or through mergers and acquisition of global businesses. However, they need to have global vision and be risk takers, Ravi Kant, former CEO and Vice-Chairman of Tata Motors, told members of the Dubai Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), at a gathering organised to observe the 77th Chartered Accountants’ Day.
“We are in a cyclic global economic environment where ups and downs are part of the cycle. While things are down in India, it could be up in other economies. So, we looked at the global economy with an open mind for opportunities,” Ravi Kant told a packed audience.
“We went to South Korea with an open mind to bid for Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co with a US$75 million offer.”
Tata was one of the bidders that the South Koreans didn’t want to be acquired by. They wanted to be acquired by Europeans, rather than Indians.
“We asked them why? They said the Europeans will provide better technology to help Daewoo grow business. The Indian company can’t do that,” Ravi Kant recalled. “That taught us a lesson – to understand what others think and why they think like that. This forced us to think like them and change our strategy, in order to work with them. We then got involved with Daewoo team and tried to go deeper into their work culture and technology. After six weeks, the Daewoo management said, they want to be acquired by Tata Motors only.”
He said, the experience in acquisition of Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. gave Tata Motors a template for future acquisition.
“So, when the opportunity to bid for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) came, we were more than ready. There were ten bidders and we won the bid, took over for US$2.3 billion and invested our resources to turn around the company to become profitable again,” he said.
Tata Motor’s acquisition of JLR was based on a long-term vision and belief in the potential of the brands. Following the acquisition of JLR in 2008, it saw substantial increases in revenue and valuation. JLR reported a record full-year profit before tax and exceptional items of £2.5 billion for the year ending March 31, 2025, marking its highest profit in a decade. Revenue for the year was £29.0 billion. The company also achieved a net cash positive position of £278 million.
Experts estimated that JLR’s valuation increased from US$2.3 billion to US$14 billion in just five years following the acquisition. JLR’s revenue accounted for a substantial 71 percent of Tata Motors’ total revenue and contributed 80 percent of Tata Motors’ overall profitability in FY25.
“We had a grand vision for the company and that came from Chairman Ratan Tata – who laid the vision, gave us freedom to execute and backed us up whenever we needed his guidance. He led Tata and Sons from the back,” Ravi Kant said, explaining Ratan Tata’s leadership and the title of his book – Leading from the Back to Achieve the Impossible.
Nilesh Bhatnagar, Founder Chairman of NB Ventures and founder of Emax, said, “Becoming a Chartered Accountant changed everything in life. For me C.A. stands for Character and Ability, Commitment and Achievement.
“This qualification prepares you to face any challenge in life throws at you and builds a mindset that always looks for solutions. It also gave me a strong sense of responsibility towards society, which I believe is an essential part of being a CA.”
Indian Chartered Accountants are playing a great role in UAE’s growing economy as more than 8,000 Indian Chartered Accountants now manage the financial affairs of large business houses. India celebrates Chartered Accountants Day on 1st July every year, as the day marks the founding of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in 1949.
Jai Prakash Agarwal, Chairman of ICAI Dubai Chapter, lauded the commendable role played by the Indian Chartered Accountants and his fellow members, in his welcome address at the event.
“What began as a small professional body has today grown into the largest accounting institutions in the world, guiding more than 500,000 Chartered Accountants and 800,000 students across India and the globe with presence in 47 countries,” he says.
“CA Day commemorates the creation of ICAI through an Act of Parliament — just a few years after India’s independence. The timing reflects a key national need: a new country needed honest, trained professionals to manage public finances, guide businesses, and support nation-building. Chartered Accountants (CAs) were entrusted with this mission. Celebrating this day is a tribute to the professionals who keep the financial wheels of the country turning with integrity, transparency, and financial discipline.”
Currently the ICAI has its presence in 47 countries having 54 chapters and 31 representative offices across 85 global cities. It has its overseas offices in Dubai and Singapore. Of the 8,000 Indian Chartered
Accountants active in the UAE‘s private sector, 1,400 are currently leading businesses in senior positions.
Nandini Agrawal, who stunned the world in 2021 after becoming the youngest chartered accountant at 19, urged fellow chartered accountants to pursue innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at work. “Learning AI is not a choice anymore, it is a necessity. Be curious, because curiosity is the mother of all invention and growth1,” she said.
Nandini and her two-year-older sibling Sachin Agrawal – who ranked 18th in all-India CA exams, said, they did not have anyone to teach them CA. The come from a remote town in Madhya Pradesh where there were no instructors to teach them. They applied for articleship and got rejected for being ‘under-aged’.
Recalling their struggle, the duo said, “Although Science was for toppers, we didn’t pursue Science despite being toppers in the 12th Grade Board Exams in Madhya Pradesh. Instead, we opted for Chartered Accountancy as a career, because, we knew God has better plans for us.
“Your starting point doesn’t determine your destination. We didn’t have any back-up. We had to complete the CA courses through self-study and YouTube channel. Yet we passed the CA exams holding national ranks. So, it doesn’t matter how much resource you have, what matters is how resourceful you are!”
ICAI Dubai Chapter, established in 1982, is the largest, most active and award-winning chapter among the 54 overseas chapters of ICAI. It has registered a phenomenal growth in membership in recent years and currently has over 3,000 members representing more than 1,550 multinationals and other companies.
