Mumbai: Bandra milkman aces CA exam in first attempt

Bilal Ahmed started his CA exam preparations in 2021. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Last week, Bilal Ahmed's home in Bandra's Bharat Nagar was bustling, with people streaming in to congratulate him. The 24-year-old milkman had accomplished his dream with a tremendous feat. He had cleared all the levels of CA exams in his very first attempt, something a very few candidates achieve.

For Ahmed, who worked six-seven hours a day to support his father Shoukat Ali, time management was the biggest challenge, besides the financial hardships. Yet, he was determined, and now, his next target is the Big Four - the world's top multinational accounting firms. He will apply for CA Articleship (internship) at Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG).

Time management

"My day starts very early, as I have to set out by 6 am to deliver milk to hotels and cafes at Diamond Market in Bandra Kurla Complex. I have to make the delivery twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening. For exam preparations, I managed to take some time out both in the afternoon and at night and clocked seven to eight hours of study time," Ahmed said.

Bilal Ahmed delivers milk to hotels and cafes at Diamond Market in BKC. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Ahmed and his family hail from Nagaur city of the Marwar region in Rajasthan. His father still travels between Nagaur and Mumbai for work, but Ahmed has been staying in Mumbai since he graduated from B R Mirdha college, Nagaur, with distinction in 2020.

"I like the finance sector, and after completing BCom, I decided to attempt CA exams. It was a tough path, as I had heard that candidates who have cleared it would study for more than 12-13 hours at a stretch. I am glad I could clear it in my first attempt," Ahmed added.

The youth's cousin and his supporter Mohammed Nagori said, "My uncle is so proud of him. He always supported his son."

After securing an internship, he wishes to fulfil his parents' dreams of going on hajj and buy them a decent house in Mumbai.

Dreams for his parents

"My parents wish to go on hajj, although they do not tell me this. After I get a job, the first thing I want to do is start saving money so I can send them on hajj. I also want to buy a nice house where my mother can stay with us. Currently, my father and I sleep, cook and clean in a 10x10 room in Bharat Nagar. Therefore, my mother lives in Nagaur, while my father and I are here. I want to have my own house in this city, where it's comfortable for my parents to live," he said.

Bilal said that he has to run the milk delivery business alone because his father travels to Nagaur frequently. "Since the majority of our customers are businesses like hotels and cafes, we cannot afford to delay or miss deliveries for even a single day. If we don't get any business, we'll lose everything."

He started his CA preparations in 2021 and wrote his group 1 exam in November 2022 and group 2 exam in May 2023. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India declared the results of the CA inter and final examination on July 5.

7 hours
Time he spent making deliveries in a day

2021
Year Ahmed started his CA preparations