Who is Saurabh Katiyar, IAS officer handed charge of MPSC amid paper leak row?

Saurabh Katiyar, a 2016-batch IAS officer from the Maharashtra cadre, has been appointed as the additional secretary of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) amid a controversy surrounding the state’s recruitment system. The move comes after the transfer of the previous MPSC secretary, Mahendra Harpalkar, amid allegations of examination irregularities.

Katiyar, who graduated from IIT Kanpur with BTech and MTech degrees, has had a varied administrative career, working in tribal development, district-level assignments, and urban administration. His experience in tribal health in Melghat, a region battling malnutrition and high mortality, has prepared him for his new role at the MPSC.

As Mumbai Suburban Collector, Katiyar has been handling land administration and encroachment issues, a task that has drawn attention from the Bombay High Court, which recently criticized delays in clearing encroachments around a natural pond in Charkop, Kandivali (West). The controversy surrounding the MPSC has led to an 11-day protest by aspirants in Pune, demanding action over the alleged paper leak and the resignation of the commission’s chairman.