Mumbai: The Maharashtra state service preliminary exam (MPSC) will be held on March 21 (Sunday). The State Service Pre-Examination earlier scheduled on March 14 was postponed amid the rise in COVID-19 cases in the state. The exam conducting body, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission on Friday announced that the exams will be held on March 21.

The state relief and rehabilitation department issued a circular about the postponement of the exams stating that it was reviewing the situation in various parts of the state. The official notification is available to candidates on the official site of MPSC on mpsc.gov.in.

Earlier, the pre-service state service examination on October 11, last year, was postponed due to the stance taken by Maratha organisations on the Maratha reservation issue. The examination was earlier scheduled in April and September 2020 but even they were postponed amid the pandemic. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday assured that the date for MPSC’ preliminary examination will be announced on Friday.

Meanwhile, a large number of students took to the streets in multiple cities in Maharashtra and created staged protest against MPSC on Thursday. The protests that begin in Pune were also seen in Nashik, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Aurangabad and other districts of the state. The examination was to take place in April last year but was repeatedly postponed amid COVID outbreak.