MPSC aspirants may get one-year age relaxation; panel recommends over 16,000 group-C posts

A high-level committee has recommended an increase in vacancies for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission's (MPSC) Group-C Combined Preliminary Examination 2026 to over 16,000, and a one-time relaxation of one year in the upper age limit for all recruitment examinations. The committee, headed by IAS officer V Radha, was constituted on September 4, 2026, amid allegations of irregularities and malpractices in MPSC examinations and protests by aspirants.

It has submitted its interim report to the state government, recommending several measures to make the recruitment examination process more transparent, secure and reliable, an official statement said on Thursday. 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 sent requisitions for more than 11,000 additional posts to the MPSC.

Committee recommends additional vacancies

The committee has recommended including these additional vacancies, taking the total number of posts to over 16,000. It has also recommended a one-time relaxation of one year in the upper age limit for all recruitment examinations as a special measure. The relaxation will apply to advertisements issued after January 1, 2026, for which the selection process has not begun, and up to December 31, 2027. The committee has also recommended reopening the application process once for the Group-C examination, so that the candidates who become eligible due to the additional vacancies and age relaxation can apply.

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The committee has suggested retaining the existing examination pattern and syllabus for the Group-C preliminary examination. The syllabus for the main examinations of newly included cadres should be announced at the earliest, it has said. It has also recommended scrapping the existing question paper-setting exercise and preparing fresh papers through a secure process as a precautionary measure. The committee has further called for stringent security arrangements for the printing, storage and transportation of question papers and answer sheets. It has recommended police deployment, CCTV surveillance and use of signal jammers at examination venues, among other measures.