Maharashtra Forms Seven-Member Panel to Overhaul Recruitment Exam System
The Maharashtra government has constituted a seven-member high-level committee to comprehensively review the state's recruitment examination system and recommend structural reforms. The decision follows a high-level meeting held on 12 August 2026 chaired by the Chief Minister, according to an order issued by the General Administration Department.
The initiative aims to overhaul existing government recruitment examinations to make them more transparent, secure, reliable, fair, and candidate-oriented across Maharashtra. Following the Chief Minister's directives, the General Administration Department moved to establish the panel to thoroughly study current examination procedures and address systemic shortcomings.
V. Radha, Additional Chief Secretary (Services) of the General Administration Department, has been appointed to lead the panel as its chairperson. Dr. N. Ramaswamy, Secretary of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Development and Fisheries, will serve as the member secretary of the committee.
The panel includes key administrative, security, and academic representatives from across the state. Among the appointed members are Director General of Police Sadanand Date; Virendra Singh, Secretary of the Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Department; and Praveen Gedam, Divisional Commissioner of Nashik Division.
The committee also includes Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhosale (retd), a former member of the Union Public Service Commission, alongside a professor from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai.
As part of its review process, the committee will travel across Maharashtra, visiting every Revenue Division to engage with key stakeholders. The members are tasked with conducting discussions and gathering feedback directly from students, examination candidates, representatives of educational institutions, and other relevant groups.
State officials stated that recommended improvements will be formulated based on the inputs and suggestions gathered during these regional consultations. In addition to local reviews, the committee is authorised to study recruitment best practices from other Indian states as well as examination systems implemented in other countries if deemed necessary.
