Hindi keyboard layouts explained: Inscript and Remington (GAIL)

Typing Hindi on a computer means choosing where each Devanagari letter lives on an ordinary keyboard. Different layouts put the letters in different places, so the layout you practise on is the layout your fingers will know. Here is how the main options differ, in our own words.

First, Unicode

Modern Hindi text is stored as Unicode characters, so it can be read in any Unicode font. Microsoft describes Mangal as an OpenType font for Devanagari that is based on Unicode and ships with Windows. The SSC CHSL 2026 notice requires Hindi typists in the LDC/JSA typing test to use the Mangal font only. Whichever layout you use, what reaches the screen should be Unicode Devanagari.

Source: Mangal font family, Microsoft Learn (Typography). Checked 26 October 2026.

Source: Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), para 13.9.13.7 (viii). Checked 26 October 2026.

Inscript

Microsoft has described Inscript as "the official Indian keyboard standard for Indian languages", supported in Windows since Windows 2000. Windows 11's own list of keyboards includes "Devanagari - INSCRIPT" and "Hindi Traditional"; Microsoft's help pages call these traditional Indic keyboards INSCRIPT keyboards.

Source: Microsoft adds smart Phonetic Indic keyboards in 10 Indian languages for Windows 10, Microsoft News Centre India. Checked 26 October 2026.

Source: Windows keyboard layouts, Microsoft Learn. Checked 26 October 2026.

How Inscript is organised

Reading Microsoft's chart of the Hindi Traditional layout, a clear pattern shows:

• Vowels on the left, on the top and home rows. On those two rows the left-hand keys give vowel signs (matras) and the virama without Shift, and the full vowel letters with Shift: ◌ा on E becomes आ, ◌ि on F becomes इ. The bottom row is mixed: its left-hand keys give the anusvara ◌ं (X) and the consonants म, न and व (C, V, B).
• Right hand: consonants. The right-hand keys give consonants, and Shift usually gives the aspirated partner: क and ख on K, त and थ on L, प and फ on H.
• Virama on D. Conjuncts are typed as consonant, virama, consonant. क्ष is K, D, then Shift with the comma key (ष).
• Danda on Shift with full stop. The sentence-ending । is Shift with the full stop key.

The dotted circle (◌) marks a vowel sign or other mark that attaches to the letter before it. Number-row keys are not shown. Your Windows version may differ slightly; Microsoft's interactive chart is the reference.

Source: Hindi Traditional Keyboard, Microsoft Learn, read on 26 October 2026. Checked 26 October 2026.

Remington (GAIL)

"Remington (GAIL)" is the other layout name you will meet in Indian exam material. The Madhya Pradesh CPCT website, for example, publishes separate reference charts titled "Keyboard Layout Remington(GAIL)" and "Keyboard Layout Inscript" for its candidates. What matters in practice:

• It is a different arrangement. Letters sit on different keys from Inscript, so speed on one layout does not carry over to the other.
• It is not one of Windows' built-in keyboards. Microsoft's list of Windows 11 keyboard layouts (updated 28 September 2026) includes Inscript layouts for Hindi but no Remington layout. Typing Remington on Windows therefore needs separate input software; ask your exam body or institute which tool and font they expect.
• We do not reproduce its key map. We could not find a published specification we could verify, so use the chart your exam body provides.

Source: Computer Proficiency Certification Test (CPCT) home page, CPCT, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Checked 26 October 2026.

Source: Windows keyboard layouts, Microsoft Learn. Checked 26 October 2026.

Get the official chart

Learn from the chart published by the body that runs your exam, so your practice matches its computers. CPCT, for example, links its Keyboard Layout Remington(GAIL) chart (an image file) from its home page. Keep it open or printed beside you while you learn the keys.

Source: Keyboard Layout Remington(GAIL), CPCT, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Checked 26 October 2026.

How one exam handles the layout choice

CPCT's instructions for Hindi typing show what to expect when an exam offers both layouts:

• The layout you opted for, Inscript or Remington (GAIL), is shown on your admit card. Check it before the test.
• The Hindi typing section opens with a 5-minute mock test. At its start you switch the language input to Hindi from the language bar, and you can pick your layout from the keyboard list on screen.
• Candidates are told not to switch between language and keyboard inputs during the test.

Source: Instruction for Hindi Typing, CPCT, Government of Madhya Pradesh. Checked 26 October 2026.

What to ask your exam body or institute

• Which Hindi layouts its computers offer, by their exact names, and whether you choose one when you apply.
• Which input software provides the Remington (GAIL) layout on those computers, so you can practise with the same tool.
• Which font the typed text must use. The SSC CHSL 2026 notice, for example, says Hindi typists must use Mangal only, and that any other font leads to non-qualification.

Source: Notice: Combined Higher Secondary (10+2) Level Examination, 2026, Staff Selection Commission (SSC), para 13.9.13.7 (viii). Checked 26 October 2026.

Check that your Remington tool types Unicode

Before you practise with any Remington (GAIL) software, type a few Hindi words into our setup check. It lists every character your keyboard sent. If it reports no Devanagari characters, or English letters, while your screen showed Hindi, that software is not producing Unicode Devanagari text. TypeTez would score such text as wrong.

Phonetic and transliteration keyboards

Phonetic keyboards let you type Hindi by sound with English letters. Microsoft offers Indic Phonetic keyboards for 10 Indian languages including Hindi, in addition to the Inscript keyboards; Gboard on Android lists "Hindi, Transliteration" and "Hindi, Latin / Hinglish" alongside "Hindi, Devanagari". They are quick to learn for everyday messages. In our view they are not a substitute for exam practice: they depend on suggestions, and an exam that names Inscript or Remington expects you to know that layout.

Source: Set up and use Indic Phonetic keyboards, Microsoft Support. Checked 26 October 2026.

Source: Set up Gboard (Android phone and tablet), Gboard Help, Google. Checked 26 October 2026.

Which should you practise?

Ready to set it up? Turn on Hindi typing in Windows or Android, then try the Hindi typing test.