CS FAMILY – JAGDISH PRASAD MUNDHARA AND FAMILY

 1. How did you plan to do CS course? Who motivated you to do the course?

 

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

 I started my Company Secretaryship Course way back in the year 1984. Coming from a very small village in Rajasthan, the educational studies at that point of time was considered having much of cons rather than pros. At the time when I started the studies there was no concept of a Practicing Company Secretary. In fact, the qualified professionals were then employed by Companies to undertake their secretarial matters. Accordingly, with a drive for a well settled employment I pursued this course.

 My father has been my prime motivator as he wanted one of his sons to be educated and well qualified to help the community and society at large. I had the privilege of being the first qualified Company Secretary in my village. With the grace of god, blessings of my parents and good deeds of all living beings, I am happy to share that in my three decades of practice I have trained more than 30 students and out of which more than 25 of my students are proud members of this esteemed institution. I count this achievement as one of my biggest asset in the profession. 

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

 I started my Company Secretaryship course in the year 2005. The course at that time was gaining momentum as the e-governance mode (change from manual filing to online e-filing) was under the pipeline. I did my graduation from MOP Vaishnav College for Women and this infact met my logistic requirements as the Institute Premises was between my home and the college.

 My parents have been my biggest motivators for the course. I have admired my father, the way he worked, the way he planned things and the way the profession has helped him gain the respect and the way people looked at professionals. With the blessings and well wishes of all my near and dear ones I had the privilege of clearing all the three examinations in my first attempt and further helped me secure All India 25^th Rank in my Foundation Examination conducted by the Institute in the year December, 2006.

 

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

I started my Company Secretaryship course in the year 2006. The introduction of the concept of e-Filing was one of the prime reason by which I got inclined to the course.

My parents and my sisters (I have one more elder sister who had left the Company Secretaryship course at the Intermediate Stage due to her marriage) are my biggest motivators for the course. I have been admiring my father and sisters since my childhood and this have led me into this profession.

The rigorous training which I have undergone under my father had led me to clear all the three examinations in my first attempt and further helped me secure All India 19^th Rank in my Professional Programme Examination conducted by the Institute in the year June, 2009. The motivation and strictness of my father and sisters also led to me do the Chartered Accountancy course and accordingly I had cleared all the three examinations in my first attempt and further helped me secure All India 1^st Rank in the Paper on Company Law and Allied Laws of my Final Examinations conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in the year November, 2012. With the blessings and well wishes of all my relatives, friends, near and dear ones I have been awarded with The UC Majumdar Prize for the Best Paper on Corporate & Allied Laws and The Late Shri. SM Dugar Memorial Prize for the Best Paper on Corporate & Allied Laws by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

2. Was CS course easy or tough when you did it? Do you think the earlier times were tough to pass or the current period is difficult to crack through?

 

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

I have always felt that the CS Course is of appropriate standards which become extremely easy if we start working hard. The laws in the country are always based on some logic and it is this logic which is to be understood in its true sense. With regard to the toughness with the changing times, I feel it has been balanced at all times. Earlier, the course content was limited but we did not have much books and we had limited resources to get the reference books and also there was a lack of class room teaching mode. Nowadays, the course content has increased but it is also supported by an equal amount of reference materials, online and offline classes, webinars, technical sessions, etc.

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

As a student it was obviously a vast course but it was not that tough as I had attended the oral coaching classes of the institute and I was able to get all my doubts solved then and there. As said by father, the situation is almost the same, earlier there was less syllabus and less resources,  now the syllabus has increased and accordingly the support has increased manifold.

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

I have been in the mid-times of the course, where we had vast syllabus but support such as postal coaching, oral coaching, suggested answer scripts, revision test paper scripts, etc was available and we had somehow managed to overcome the pressures of the examination. Presently, with the increase in the online support, the distraction of the students have also increased a lot. With the social / online media gaining buzz both at the education front and the entertainment front I find it difficult to crack the examinations at the present times.

3. Can you kindly tell what each one of you is professionally doing now

 

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

I have been practicing as a Company Secretary and moreover into client consultation and office administration. I have been supported by my team of diversified professionals who help me in catering to all my client’s requirements.

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

I have been practicing as a Company Secretary in Mumbai and moreover looking into the firm’s Mumbai requirements.

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

 

I have been practicing as a Chartered Accountant in Chennai.

4. It is very rare father and two children are from the same CS profession. How do you see it and how your relatives and friends see it?

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

Well this combination is obviously a rare one and I am one of such proud father. I feel that this is generally a dream of all parents that they see that their kids are well educated, well settled and well placed in all their endeavours. The fulfillment of this dream is above all achievements. My relatives and friends have always been supporting us and have always taken this combination in their good books.

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

Yes it is a rare combination and this combination helps us in resolving all our professional doubts. My friends and relatives do admire us and have quite a few times taken us as their role models.

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

Yes it is a rare combination and I am one of the lucky professional who always have two seniors round the clock for resolving anything and everything. My friends and relatives do admire us and have been always been supporting us.

5. How do you see the professional opportunities to the CS today?

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

There are abundant opportunities at present both for young and senior professionals. With the latest amendments in almost all the legislations, I feel that the professionals are now required to tap the maximum available opportunities. 

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

With the spate of amendments in the Companies Act, LLP Act, IBC, SEBI Act, GST Act, Income Tax Act, FEMA Act and all other allied laws, I feel that the CS today have got lot of options to choose into. Unlike earlier times, where we had only Companies Act and SEBI Act in our purview, the window is now open for professionals to choose into.

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

Yes there are many opportunities available at present. The members in practice and the members in industry who are now a part of the Board, find it extremely comfortable with the varied knowledge they have in various subjects. The daily bulletins in the form of Info Capsule, the fortnightly bulletins in the form of Gyan Ganga and the monthly bulletins in the form of newsletters and journals have helped the professionals gain abundant and latest knowledge and this in-turn have given the professionals a latest learning edge. I find that the CS today apart from the compliance requirements are called for almost all the Board discussions as the management have now understood the depth of knowledge these professionals have.

6. Any thoughts or advise to the young members and students?

CS Jagdish Prasad Mundhara

In a single line there is no substitute for the hard work and above all health is wealth.

CS Kusumlata Jhawar

Please note that it is only for the limited period where the sapling will require your care for growing into a plant and then into a tree and thereafter you will be able to reap all the benefits be it fruits or flowers or shadow.  

CS/CA Vineet Mundhara

I would always say that believe in yourself and always have the confidence to face whatever it be. Students should always start with simple concepts and then move to the complex one as this will help them gain the confidence. Always remember that we were first thought with letters like A, B, C, D, etc and the sentences were thought at a later stage.

Young members shouldn’t get carried away with the concept of easy money. Please be aware that the profession has gained its importance over the years of hard work of our senior members and please do not let it go with such small act of ours. Also, the responsibility of an appointed Company Secretary is huge and in some cases much more than the managing director of the Company.

Interview by : CS Mohan Kumar, Past Chairman ICSI SIRC