New Delhi: Two days after announcing that candidates would have access to an onscreen virtual calculator during the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified that no such facility will be available.

In a notice issued on Sunday night, the NTA said the earlier reference to an onscreen standard calculator in its information bulletin was the result of a “typographic error.” The agency explained that while the calculator feature exists on its generic computer-based testing platform, its use is not permitted for JEE (Main).

“In Appendix VIII of the Information Bulletin for JEE (Main) – 2026 on 'Computer-Based Test (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,” the NTA said in its statement.

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

In the original bulletin issued on Friday, the NTA had stated that an onscreen calculator would be available for basic mathematical functions such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root and percentage. However, the revised version released on Sunday removed this section and expressed regret for the confusion caused.

“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,” the notice read.

JEE Main, held twice a year in January and April, is conducted for admission to undergraduate engineering, architecture, and planning courses. Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) is entirely computer-based, Paper 2A (B.Arch) combines CBT and pen-and-paper drawing sections, and Paper 2B (B.Plan) is fully computer-based. Each correct answer carries four marks, with one mark deducted for every incorrect response.

Around 14.15 lakh candidates appeared for JEE Main in 2024, while about 14.75 lakh took the exam in 2025.