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News India Live, Digital Desk: The huge confusion regarding the use of calculators for the last few days has now ended among lakhs of students preparing for the country’s biggest engineering entrance exam, JEE Mains 2026. National Testing Agency (NTA) has made it clear that use of any kind of calculator will not be allowed during the examination.
The hopes that were raised due to the mention of use of calculator in the information bulletin released earlier, NTA has rejected it by calling it a “typographical error”.
How did all this confusion start?
When NTA released the first information bulletin for JEE Mains 2026, it was found written at one place that simple calculators will be allowed inside the examination hall. This news spread like wildfire, as it would have been a huge change in the history of JEE Mains. Many students and coaching centers got excited about this and even started considering changing their preparation strategy.
A debate broke out on social media whether the pattern of JEE Mains is changing now and whether NTA wants to provide relief to the students.
NTA gave clarification, issued new bulletin
Seeing the increasing confusion among the students, NTA immediately handled the situation. The agency issued a clarification saying that the reference to calculators being allowed in the information bulletin was an unintentional typographical error.
NTA clarified:
- No Calculator in BE/B.Tech (Paper 1): Use of any type of physical or virtual calculator is allowed in JEE Mains Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech) as before. No Will happen.
- Virtual Calculator in B.Arch/B.Planning (Paper 2): There will be a display on the computer screen only for numerical value questions of Paper 2 (B.Arch/B.Planning). virtual calculator Will be made available, as has been happening in previous years also.
- Revised bulletin issued: NTA has also released a revised i.e. updated information bulletin on its official website, from which the incorrect information regarding the calculator has been removed.
What does this mean for students?
After this clarification, it has been decided that students will have to continue their preparation as per the old pattern. They will have to rely on their calculation speed and accuracy as they will not find any calculator in the examination hall. This decision of NTA is important to maintain the standard and integrity of the examination, where the mental calculation and problem-solving skills of the students are truly tested.