The Maharashtra government has assured MPSC aspirants that state civil-service examinations will continue to be conducted offline, while a judicial inquiry will examine the functioning of former and incumbent Maharashtra Public Service Commission chairpersons and members.
The assurances were given by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis during a meeting with a delegation of MPSC candidates. The aspirants suspended their planned October 2 agitation after the meeting and the commitments announced by the government.
The Chief Minister’s Office said the judicial inquiry would be completed within three months, after which further action would be taken according to its findings. It said the state government and the governor did not have the authority to remove an MPSC chairperson because the position is constitutional.
“Under Article 317 of the Constitution, only the President can remove a chairperson or member on the recommendation of the Supreme Court,” the CMO said. The government will therefore initiate an inquiry into the conduct and functioning of former and incumbent office-bearers, it said.
The government also agreed that MPSC examinations would remain offline. The CMO said no change in the examination mode would be introduced without consultations with aspirants and other stakeholders. The issue has been a central concern for candidates preparing for competitive examinations conducted by the commission.
Another assurance involved the Group C examination scheduled for January 3. The government accepted the demand for a substantial increase in vacancies, with the number of posts potentially rising to two or three times the current level. The exact revised number of vacancies was not specified in the report.
Fadnavis acknowledged broader recruitment problems in the state administration, including an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 pending promotions across departments. He also said recruitment rules in several sectors had not been revised since the 1960s, affecting the ability of departments to fill sanctioned posts fully.
Government sources said recruitment rules for nearly 60% of departments had already been updated and that work on the remaining departments was under way. The government plans to prepare a comprehensive recruitment roadmap within a month and move towards recruitment planning in three-year cycles.
Under the proposed approach, vacancies expected from retirements would be identified in advance, with recruitment processes beginning at least a year before posts fall vacant. The government is also considering a single-card system that would allow candidates to apply for multiple government examinations without repeatedly submitting the same documents.
The proposed integrated digital framework is intended to reduce duplicated paperwork for applicants. The government has not yet announced a final implementation date or detailed operating rules for the system.
The delegation included MPSC aspirants and representatives including Akshay Kamble, Pramod Patil, Akshay Jain, Rahul Dambale and others. Jain said the assurances should be implemented transparently and within the stated timelines. The immediate milestones are the proposed three-month inquiry, the recruitment roadmap expected within a month and the final vacancy count for the January Group C examination.
