MPSC Exams: OMR System to Continue for Next One Year, Says Maharashtra Task Force

Pune, 12th September 2026: The Maharashtra government’s high-level Recruitment Examination Task Force held a consultation in Pune with students, teachers, parents and other stakeholders on Friday to seek suggestions for making the competitive examination process more transparent, secure, stable and candidate-friendly.

The consultation covered issues including examination schedules, question paper quality and security, prevention of paper leaks, vacancies, answer keys, examination centres, grievance redressal and the ‘opting out’ process.

The task force is headed by V. Radha, Additional Chief Secretary (Services), General Administration Department. Its members include Director General of Police Sadanand Date, Electronics, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Department Secretary Virendra Singh, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries Department Secretary Dr N. Ramaswamy, Nashik Divisional Commissioner Pravin Gedam, former Union Public Service Commission member Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhosale (Retd.) and IIT Bombay professor Shyamprasad Karagadde.

The task force has received more than 18,000 emails from across Maharashtra so far. During the consultation, students called for an annual examination calendar to be announced and followed strictly, along with long-term stability in procedures and an end to frequent changes. They also suggested that the minimum number of vacancies for different cadres should be announced in advance.

The task force is considering the use of technology to strengthen security at every stage, from question paper preparation and printing to transportation and distribution. It is also considering an e-question bank system under which even the person preparing a question would not know which examination it would be used for. The committee said achieving a “zero-leak” examination process was one of its key objectives.

Students also called for stricter quality-control mechanisms to prevent errors in question papers and answer keys. They suggested uniform criteria for evaluating answer sheets and verification of the quality of examiners.

A centralised online portal for candidates to submit complaints and objections was also proposed. Participants stressed the need for basic facilities such as clean toilets, drinking water and proper seating arrangements at examination centres. They also suggested a common registration and fee-payment system for all examinations.

The stakeholders also sought a clear policy for post selection and the ‘opting out’ process when a candidate qualifies for multiple posts. They suggested that certificates submitted under the disability and sports categories should be verified at an appropriate stage of the recruitment process.

Radha said a decision had been taken to conduct examinations through the OMR-based system instead of online examinations for the next one year. A decision on the continuation of the OMR system after this period will be taken at the government level, she said. Work is also underway to prepare standardised guidelines to ensure that OMR-based examinations are conducted in a transparent, secure and uniform manner.

The task force is studying the functioning of various public service commissions in the country, including the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission, Gujarat Public Service Commission and UPSC, to identify practices that could be adopted in Maharashtra.

Radha said suggestions received from students and other stakeholders would be examined seriously to make the examination process more reliable and effective.

The need to strengthen the Maharashtra Public Service Commission’s (MPSC) manpower, technological capabilities and institutional structure was also highlighted in view of its increasing responsibilities.

DGP Sadanand Date said the task force aims to create a faster, transparent and accountable system for selecting government officials.
Divisional Commissioner Sheetal Teli-Ugle, District Collector Jitendra Dudi, Additional District Collector Satish Raut and Resident Deputy Collector Jyoti Kadam were among those present.