The Maharashtra Public Service Commission has postponed the State Services Main Examination 2026, the Maharashtra Civil Engineering Main Examination 2026 and the Maharashtra Group-B Non-Gazetted Main Examination 2026, citing the re-evaluation of answer sheets from the State Services Main Examination 2025 and a broader review of the examination system.
The State Services Main Examination 2026 was scheduled to begin on October 3. MPSC said revised dates for all three examinations would be announced separately. The postponement affects candidates preparing for the examinations and comes amid sustained protests by aspirants in Pune over delays, answer-sheet evaluation and examination security.
In its notification, the commission said students and student organisations had submitted objections regarding the evaluation of answer sheets for the Maharashtra State Services Main Examination 2025. “Taking these objections into consideration, the commission has decided to conduct re-evaluation of the answer sheets of the State Services Main Examination 2025,” it said.
MPSC said the re-evaluation was likely to delay the examination process. It also referred to representations received from students, parents, student organisations and elected representatives seeking the postponement of the 2026 State Services Main Examination.
The re-evaluation has created uncertainty for candidates who cleared the 2025 State Services Main Examination and were waiting for interviews. Interviews for 438 candidates who qualified for the next stage had already been postponed amid demands for a review of the evaluation process.
Radhika Jadhav, a Pune-based aspirant who cleared the 2025 State Services Main Examination, said the delay had placed qualified candidates in an uncertain position. She demanded that the interviews be held at the earliest and the final result be declared.
Another aspirant, Ratan Janrao from Solapur, questioned the decision to conduct what he described as blanket rechecking. He said such rechecking was not permissible under Rule 6.4.3 and argued that a revised result would be unfair to the 438 candidates who had already qualified. These objections represent the position of individual aspirants and have not been independently adjudicated in the supplied report.
At the same time, another section of candidates has sought a wider review of the evaluation process before recruitment proceedings continue. Aspirants have also raised concerns about examination delays and security following an alleged question-paper leak related to the Drug Inspector examination. The supplied report does not establish the allegation independently.
The commission said it had taken note of the Maharashtra government’s review of the examination system. A high-level committee constituted by the government has held discussions with candidates and other stakeholders across the state and examined examination practices followed elsewhere. According to MPSC, the committee’s recommendations on an examination system are expected shortly.
The postponement is the latest change to the MPSC examination calendar. Candidates preparing for the State Services, Civil Engineering and Group-B Main Examinations will now have to wait for the commission to publish fresh schedules. MPSC said the decision followed consideration of objections to the 2025 evaluation, the ongoing examination-system review and representations from students, parents, organisations and public representatives.
