Mumbai: The Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) will conduct all its forthcoming preliminary examinations in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode as part of a major overhaul aimed at speeding up the recruitment process, its chairman Vivek Bhimanwar said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the target is to declare the results within 21 days of conducting the exam and wrap up the entire selection process within the same year.

Bhimanwar said the MPSC had initiated wide-ranging reforms to reduce delays in examinations and recruitment, adding that the decision to shift to the CBT mode for preliminary examinations was taken in the interest of candidates.

He said the commission had set a target of announcing results of all preliminary examinations within 21 days. The recently concluded State Services preliminary examination result was declared within 22 days, and efforts would now be made to bring the timeline down to 21 days for all future preliminary tests.

Bhimanwar said the commission also aimed to complete the recruitment process in the same calendar year in which the examination is conducted. Recruitment for posts involving interviews would be completed within nine to 11 months, while appointments based solely on written examinations would be finalised within six to seven months, he said.

He clarified that the CBT mode would be confined to preliminary examinations and there would be no change in the pattern of main examinations for State Services and Group A, B or C posts, which would continue in the conventional format.

The MPSC chief said CBT and normalisation were not new to the commission, which had already conducted around 140 examinations using the system.

He described the CBT mode as a scientific and judicially accepted method that was widely followed across the country.

Citing examples, Bhimanwar said the Staff Selection Commission, Railway Recruitment Board, National Testing Agency and Maharashtra's State Common Entrance Test Cell were already conducting large-scale examinations through the CBT mode with normalisation.

He expressed confidence that the new system would make examinations more transparent, faster and time-bound while significantly reducing delays in the recruitment process and providing greater certainty to candidates.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.