Patiala: Patiala resident Noor Singla, 21, secured the All India Rank (AIR) 1 in the Chartered Accountants (CA) Final May 2026 examination, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) declaring the results on Thursday. ICAI said Singla topped the exam with 499 out of 600 marks, scoring 83.17 %.
A former state-level cricketer during his schooling, Singla credited his parents, teachers and the sport for teaching him patience, resilience and the ability to perform under pressure, which he said proved crucial during his CA preparation. He cited his two elder sisters as his primary source of inspiration and emotional support through the grueling phases of his preparation.
"My father Gagandeep Singla is a real estate businessman and mother Sujata is a house wife. Its because of their support I had achieved this success. After schooling from DAV Patiala till class 12, I got admission in graduation in IGNOU and appeared for exams in Delhi. From the beginning I had interest in the finances", he said.
Sharing his success strategy, Singla said studying for more than 10 hours was secondary to the quality of focus. He said he maintained consistency by breaking the syllabus into small daily targets tailored around his office schedule rather than relying on last-minute cramming.
Ritij Saraf from Howrah secured AIR 2 with 475 marks (79.17 %), while Sohan Anil Manjrekar from Dombivli (East) bagged AIR 3 with 473 marks (78.83 %). This year, 7,931 candidates qualified as Chartered Accountants across India out of thousands who appeared for the exams held between May 2 and May 20.
