NTA Clarifies: No Calculators Allowed in JEE Main 2026 After Typo Sparks Confusion

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has put an end to the confusion with its official statement that calculators are strictly not allowed in the JEE Main 2026 examination. This statement from the NTA comes after the notice that was circulated widely which incorrectly informed about the availability of calculators.

Last week the NTA published a bulletin that informed the candidates about the provision of an onscreen standard calculator during the computer, based test. Engineering aspirants took this piece of information very enthusiastically and started sharing it across their networks, as it seemed to be the radical change in the exam policy which had been the same for years. Nevertheless, the agency, however, has come with a statement that the inclusion of a calculator is a “typographic error” and the feature is for its generic testing platform and not for the JEE Main examination.

The information about the availability of an onscreen standard calculator during the Computer, Based Test is not accurate. This feature is associated with the generic test conducting platform and hence, is not applicable for JEE (Main) as no form of a calculator is allowed during this examination, " NTA stated in its official clarification.

The first session of the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) 2026 is scheduled to be held from January 21 to 30, with the second session being in April 2026. The announcement of results for the January session is expected to be made on February 26.

Online registrations for JEE Main 2026 were opened on October 31. Eligible candidates can get registered until November 27 by visiting the official NTA website.

There was a mix, up between the initial bulletin and the actual scenario as far as the availability of the "onscreen calculator" was concerned. The basic functions of the "onscreen calculator" were mentioned as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root, and percentage. After the clarification, the NTA has removed all the references regarding the calculator from the information bulletin.

To sum up: a short period of time was spent online to discuss a virtual calculator which could be used during the exam, but in fact, no calculators, virtual or physical, will be allowed in JEE Main 2026. Candidates will have to solve mathematical problems by themselves just like the previous years.