Mumbai: The state government on Friday announced a major revision to the admission process for diploma-level technical and allied courses from the academic year 2025-26.
The changes, approved through a Government Resolution (GR) issued by the Higher and Technical Education Department on Friday, apply to admissions in institutions affiliated with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Pharmacy Council of India, and the Council of Architecture.
The GR specifies that admission rules for first-year post-SSC diploma courses in engineering and architecture, second-year engineering diplomas, and post-HSC diploma courses in hotel management and catering technology, surface coating technology, architecture, and pharmacy are being amended. The modifications are part of the ongoing updates to the Maharashtra State Technical Diploma Educational Institutions (Admission) Rules, 2019.
With the revised rules, the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) will now include four rounds—CAP Rounds I, II, III and IV—conducted through a computerised system.
“Every stage in CAP Round I, II, III and IV shall be executed with home district (HD) and other than home district (OHD) tag and if the seats remain vacant then the same stage shall be executed without HD and OHD tag. If further seats remain vacant, they shall be considered for allotment to all the candidates on the basis of Inter-Se-Merit,” the resolution states.
Further, eligibility for seat allocation during these rounds has been clarified. Candidates allotted a seat within their first three preferences in Round II or within the first six preferences in Round III will have their allotments auto-frozen and will not be eligible to participate in further CAP rounds.
“Such allotment shall be auto-freezed and the candidate shall accept the allotment so made. After the acceptance such candidate shall not be eligible for participation in the subsequent CAP rounds,” the GR reads.
For those receiving allotments beyond these preferences, the option to freeze the seat remains, with provisions for retaining or forfeiting allotments based on reporting and document verification.
Another significant change pertains to the conduct of admissions under the Institutional Quota and for seats that remain vacant after all CAP rounds. The GR notes, “The Principal or Director of the institution shall carry out the Institute Level Admissions for Institutional Quota seats and vacant seats after CAP Rounds in the following manner” and goes on to outline procedures including online registration, transparent publication of merit lists, and time-bound reporting to the Admission Regulatory Centre (ARC).
The GR mandates that institutes must register every admitted student on the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) portal within eight days of confirming admission. “The Institute is responsible for enrolling the candidates on the portal of ‘Academic Bank of Credits’ within eight days after confirmation of admission. Admission of the candidates shall not be recommended for approval unless all admitted candidates in the institute are enrolled on the ‘Academic Bank of Credits’ portal,” it states.
The policy also revises rules related to cancellation of admission. Candidates cancelling admission before the last date for full fee refund will be entitled to a refund after deduction of Rs1,000 towards processing charges.
“The Institute shall refund the entire fees to the candidate after deduction of Rupees one thousand only towards processing charges and return all his original documents within two days,” according to the GR. No refund will be issued for cancellations made after the cutoff date, apart from caution and security deposits.
