NTA clarifies no calculator use during JEE Main examination

National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday issued a clarification saying no calculator will be available during the exam that is used to select candidates aspiring for admission to undergraduate courses in engineering and architecture

Published on: Nov 3, 2025, 06:54:07 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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New Delhi: Two days after announcing that candidates would get access to an onscreen virtual calculator during the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Sunday issued a clarification saying no calculator will be available during the exam that is used to select candidates aspiring for admission to undergraduate courses in engineering and architecture.

NTA began the online application process for JEE Main 2026 on October 31. (HT Archives)

In a notice issued on Sunday night, the NTA said the earlier mention of an onscreen standard calculator in the information bulletin was due to a “typographic error.” It clarified that while the calculator feature exists on the agency’s generic test platform, its use is not permitted in JEE (Main).

“In the Appendix-VIII of the Information Bulletin for JEE (Main) – 2026 on “Computer BasedTest (CBT)”which has been uploaded on the NTA’s official website, it has been mentioned that an onscreen standard calculator will be available during the Computer-Based Test (CBT). However, this feature forms part of the generic test conducting platform and does NOT apply to JEE (Main) conducted by the NTA,as the use of calculators in any form is not permitted in this examination,” NTA said in its notice.

NTA began the online application process for JEE Main 2026 on October 31, which will remain open until November 27. The first session of the exam will be held from January 21 to 30, 2026, and the results will be announced on February 26.

In its information bulletin for JEE Main 2026 issued on Friday night, NTA said, “An onscreen standard calculator will be available throughout the computer-based Test (CBT). Use this basic calculator online for math with addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The calculator includes functions for square root, percentage etc.”

However, NTA has removed the section on onscreen standard calculator in its revised bulletin issued on Sunday night while regretting the typographic error.

“The revised Information Bulletin for JEE (Main) 2026 has been uploaded and candidates are advised to download this. NTA regrets the typographic error in the Information Bulletin of JEE(Main) 2026andforthe inconvenience caused to the candidates,” NTA said.

JEE Main is held twice a year—in January and April. Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) is a fully computer-based test with 75 questions and a total of 300 marks. Paper 2A (B.Arch) combines CBT and pen-and-paper drawing sections for 400 marks, and Paper 2B (B.Plan) is entirely CBT with about 100 questions. Each correct answer carries 4 marks, and 1 mark is deducted for every incorrect MCQ. PwD candidates receive 20 minutes of compensatory time per hour of exam duration.

Around 14.15 lakh students appeared for JEE Main 2024, and approximately 14.75 lakh in 2025.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.Read More

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