# Maharashtra board waives exam fees for drought-hit students in 265 talukas 2026-10-01T07:06:47+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has waived examination fees for Class 10 and Class 12 students in 265 drought-affected talukas. Officials said the board has instructed divisional units to accept online applications without collecting fees from these students until further orders. The fee exemption covers students appearing for the SSC and HSC exams. The Class 12 exams will be held from February 8 to March 16, 2027, and the Class 10 exams from February 15 to March 11, 2027. The decision follows a government resolution on September 25 announcing concessions for drought-hit areas. Poor rainfall this year has left 265 of the state's 358 talukas, or about 74 per cent of Maharashtra, drought-affected. Last year, over 15.5 lakh students registered for the SSC exams and over 14.4 lakh for the HSC exams. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The waiver covers students in 265 talukas, but leaves 93 talukas outside the exemption, even if some of those areas also face water stress. The board has not specified how long the waiver will last, only that it applies until further orders. The government resolution on September 25 provides the legal basis, but no budget allocation or reimbursement mechanism for the board has been disclosed. Students in affected talukas now need to apply online without paying fees, while the board must manage the revenue gap as exam cycles begin in February 2027. ## Coverage - indianexpress.com Leads with the board's announcement and follows straight news style, with no editorial framing. This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: HSC, Maharashtra, MSBSHSE, SSC Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/maharashtra-board-waives-exam-fees-for-drought-hit-students-in-265-talukas/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/maharashtra-board-waives-exam-fees-for-drought-hit-students-in-265-talukas/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/