Mumbai: A high-level committee set up by the Maharashtra government to reform recruitment examinations has recommended increasing the posts in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) Group-C Services Combined Preliminary Examination 2026 to more than 16,000, along with a one-time, one-year relaxation in the upper age limit for all recruitment examinations, in an interim report submitted to the government on Thursday (November 5).

Source: PTI

The committee, constituted through a Government Resolution dated September 4, 2026 and headed by IAS officer V Radha, was formed amid allegations of irregularities and malpractices in MPSC examinations and protests by aspirants. It submitted the interim report after consultations with students and other stakeholders across Maharashtra, prioritising the urgent issues candidates had raised, an official statement said.

Source: Careers360

Around 12 lakh candidates have applied for the Group-C examination 2026, for which over 5,000 vacancies have already been advertised. Various government departments have since sent requisitions for more than 11,000 additional posts, and the committee has recommended including them through a corrigendum, taking the total number of posts to over 16,000.

Source: Careers360

On the age limit, the committee recommended a special one-time relaxation of one year in the upper age limit for all recruitment examinations. It would apply to advertisements issued after January 1, 2026 where the selection process has not yet begun, and to advertisements issued up to December 31, 2027. The panel also recommended reopening the Group-C application process once, so that candidates who become eligible because of the additional posts and the age relaxation get a chance to apply.

Source: PTI

The committee suggested retaining the existing examination pattern and syllabus for the Group-C preliminary examination, while announcing the syllabus for the main examinations of newly included cadres at the earliest. As a precaution, it recommended scrapping the existing question paper-setting exercise and preparing fresh papers through a secure process, with stringent security for the printing, storage and transportation of question papers and answer sheets, and police deployment, CCTV surveillance and signal jammers at examination venues.

Source: Careers360

The recommendations are not yet in force: they must be formally approved and implemented by the Maharashtra government and the MPSC before candidates can rely on the higher post count or the age relaxation. No government decision on the interim report had been announced by Thursday evening.