Maharashtra forms MPSC reform panel amid Pune protests

The Maharashtra government has formed a committee to recommend reforms to the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC), naming Tukaram Mundhe as its secretary as aspirants protested in Pune over alleged recruitment irregularities and other concerns. Minister Shivendraraje Bhosale announced the panel after meeting protesters at SM Joshi Bridge on Sunday, October 11. Former judge Dilip Bhosale will chair the committee. Its members are Mundhe, an officer with the state Food and Drug Administration; IPS officer Laxmi Gautam; former IAS officer Ganesh Patil; and retired judge P D Naik. The government’s announcement establishes the committee, but its recommendations and any resulting changes have not been reported. Bhosale told protesters that the government would address several of their demands, including recruitment to 70,000 government posts over three years. That figure is a stated target, not a report that the posts have been filled. Other demands included withdrawing cases against some protest representatives and increasing the number of seats in the Group C examination scheduled for January.