Priya Suthar secured All India Rank (AIR) 21 in the Chartered Accountant (CA) final exams, emerging as Nagpur’s topper. The results, announced on December 26 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), revealed that 183 candidates from Nagpur cleared this challenging exam.
AIR 1 was jointly secured by Heramb Maheshwari of Hyderabad and Rishab Ostwal of Tirupati with 84.67%, followed by Riya Shah of Ahmedabad and Kinjal Ajmera of Kolkata in second and third positions, respectively.
Priya credited her success to her relative who is a CA and balanced 12-13 hours of daily study with a part-time job as an event manager. She plans to gain work experience before pursuing an MBA. Saket Jain, from Nagpur is the second topper.
Shreyas Shidurkar of Khaparkheda, who secured the third position from Nagpur, credited his disciplined routine of studying from 7 am to 11 pm with short breaks for his success. Nagpur’s fourth topper, Shivani Veergandham from Nimkheda—a village 45 kilometers from Nagpur city—exemplified determination and resilience. Despite undergoing surgery following an accident during her preparation, she utilized online resources and maintained an eight-hour daily study schedule.
Shivani Veergandham—whose father is a farmer and mother a homemaker—described her journey as a “rollercoaster ride.” The fifth topper, Kunal Kadam (22) from Arvi in Wardha district, comes from a middle-class family. Determined to make his parents proud—his mother a teacher and father a businessman—Kunal often studied through the night, ending his sessions at 6 am. He credited his success to determination, focus, and online lectures, and is now preparing for the CPA-US course.
Zulfesh Shah, chairman of the Western India Regional Council of ICAI, congratulated the newly qualified CAs. Akshay Gulhane, chairman of ICAI’s Nagpur branch, remarked, “Nagpur has always been home to many top CAs in the country. This year’s increase in numbers is a positive sign. As norms grow stringent, we need high-quality CAs to lead the nation’s economy forward.”