MAHARASHTRA APPROVES 10 PERCENT RESERVATION FOR EX-AGNIVEERS

Source: Maharashtra Cabinet, 29 September 2026 (Organiser)

Mumbai, October 1, 2026: The Maharashtra Cabinet, in its meeting held on 29 September 2026, approved the Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation, a policy of 10 per cent horizontal reservation for ex-Agniveers in Group-C uniformed government and semi-government services in the state. The decision has been welcomed by the Akhil Bharatiya Poorva Sainik Seva Parishad (ABPSSP), Maharashtra and Goa, which had been pressing the government for such a policy since 2025.

What the Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation says

The benefit will be available to all ex-Agniveers who are residents of Maharashtra. The services covered include the Police, the State Reserve Police Force, Prisons, Fire Services, Forest, State Excise and other related uniformed services.

The Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation is horizontal, which means the 10 per cent is applied across the existing categories. An ex-Agniveer from any category can use it, and the selection stays within that category. This is different from a vertical reservation, which is a separate share for a particular social category.

Concessions in the recruitment process

According to the Cabinet decision as described by ABPSSP, the 10 per cent quota comes with several concessions:

• Relaxation in the upper age limit
• Exemption from written examinations
• Necessary concessions in physical eligibility criteria
• No repeat of military training, although job-specific training for a particular post may still apply

The last point is practical. Agniveers have already completed basic military training, so the government does not plan to train them again from the beginning. Only the training that is special to a post, for example police procedure or forest law, would continue to apply.

Since these details of the Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation come from the description given by ABPSSP after the Cabinet meeting, readers should check the official Government Resolution when it is published for the exact wording, the age limit and the list of posts.

How the decision came about

In June 2025, ABPSSP submitted a representation to Shri Shambhuraj Desai, Minister for Ex-Servicemen Welfare, asking for suitable opportunities and reservation in state government services for Agniveers completing four years. The organisation pointed out that the first batch would be released from December 2026 onwards, so jobs had to be planned well in advance.

After this representation and continued follow-up, the state government formed a high-level committee to study how ex-Agniveers could be absorbed into government and semi-government services. Air Vice Marshal Nitin Vaidya (Retd), Vice President of ABPSSP Maharashtra and Goa, was a member of that committee. Air Marshal Pradeep Bapat, President of the organisation, said the decision would benefit both the Agniveers and the government, because the state gets a pool of

trained, disciplined and experienced manpower.

The numbers behind the decision

These figures were reported in coverage of the first batch exit. They show that most of Maharashtra’s Agniveers are in the Army, and that a large share of them will be looking for work within the next few months.

Coastal security and the Navy

The report also says that the Maharashtra government has taken a positive approach towards using ex-Agniveers from the Indian Navy in coastal security. Their specialised training and experience can be relevant for guarding the long coastline of the state. The details of such a role were not given, so it should be seen as an intention rather than a notified scheme.

Why the Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation matters

Maharashtra is a large state with big police and prison departments, so the Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation can translate into a meaningful number of vacancies over the years. The exemption from a fresh written examination is also significant, because competition for police constable posts is usually intense. For an Agniveer who spent four years in uniform and may have been away from classroom-style preparation, this can make a real difference.

At the same time, 10 per cent is lower than the 20 per cent offered in Madhya Pradesh, which took its decision on the very same day. States are free to choose their own figure, and each Agniveer should look at the terms of his or her home state.

Reading the state quota with the central quota

An Agniveer from Maharashtra does not have to choose between the state and the Centre. The Ministry of Home Affairs has reserved 50 per cent of Constable (General Duty) vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces for ex-Agniveers, and Maharashtra’s 10 per cent is an additional route into the state’s own services. The number of state vacancies that will be filled through the quota has not been announced, so it is too early to say how many of the 2,469 Agniveers due for release this year can be absorbed. What is clear is that the state has now created a legal path, and the first advertisements will show how wide it is.

What happens next

The Maharashtra ex-Agniveer reservation still has to be turned into a Government Resolution and amendments to the recruitment rules of each department. Only then can the Police, the SRPF, Prisons, Fire Services, Forest and Excise departments include the quota in their advertisements. Agniveers from Maharashtra should keep their service documents ready, watch the official recruitment portals, and ignore agents who claim to offer reserved posts for money.

READ ALSO: CHHATTISGARH CLEARS RULES FOR 10 PERCENT EX-AGNIVEER QUOTA

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