Maharashtra forms panel to overhaul public sector recruitment examination system

The Maharashtra government has appointed a seven-member panel under Additional Chief Secretary (Services) V. Radha to overhaul the state's recruitment examination framework and recommend reforms aimed at improving transparency, security and fairness in public sector hiring.

The decision to review the recruitment system was taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister on 12 August 2026. The government order, issued by the General Administration Department, tasks the committee with studying the existing examination architecture and proposing changes to make the process more candidate-oriented.

Wide-ranging mandate, stakeholder consultations

The panel includes Director General of Police Sadanand Date, Secretary of the Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Department Virendra Singh, Nashik Divisional Commissioner Praveen Gedam, former Union Public Service Commission member Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhosale (retd), and a Professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai. Dr. N. Ramaswamy, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Development and Fisheries, will serve as member secretary.

The committee has been directed to visit each Revenue Division in the state and hold consultations with students, candidates, representatives of educational institutions and other relevant stakeholders. Recommendations on improving the examination system will be framed after taking their views and suggestions into account.

Scope for cross-jurisdiction learning

The panel may also examine best practices from other states and study examination systems in other countries if necessary. The reform push follows mounting concerns over the reliability and integrity of state-level competitive exams, which serve as the primary gateway to government employment for lakhs of aspirants across Maharashtra.

Source: The Hindu