Hindi Easy Typing

Remington Gail Keyboard Layout for Hindi Typing

What Remington Gail is, why government exams still use it, and how to prepare for it.

Keyboard of a mechanical Hindi typewriter showing the Devanagari key arrangement that the Remington Gail layout descends from
Keyboard of a mechanical Hindi typewriter - the ancestor of the Remington Gail layout. Image by Immanuel Giel, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Remington Gail is the layout most people mean when they say "typewriter-style" Hindi typing. It traces back to mechanical Hindi typewriters manufactured by Remington and Godrej, where key positions were chosen for typewriter arm mechanics and fast professional typists - not for any phonetic logic tied to the Devanagari alphabet. That history is exactly why it still shows up in government exam requirements decades later: a large base of trained typists, typing institutes, and exam centres across India standardized on it long before Unicode-era layouts existed, and many recruiting bodies have kept it as an accepted (sometimes the only) option.

Who requires Remington Gail

Several Staff Selection Commission (SSC) posts, a number of state Public Service Commission clerical and data-entry recruitments, and various court and judiciary typist or stenographer exams list Remington Gail as an accepted or required layout - sometimes alongside Inscript as an alternative. Requirements vary by recruiting body, post, and year, so always confirm the exact layout and WPM requirement in your specific exam notification rather than assuming from past exams.

Why it's harder to learn than Inscript

Because key positions aren't phonetically grouped, you can't reason your way to the right key from the sound of a Hindi letter the way you sometimes can with phonetic layouts. Typists traditionally learn Remington Gail the same way English typists learn QWERTY - through repeated practice until finger positions become automatic. Typing institutes that prepare candidates for government exams build their entire curriculum around this muscle-memory approach, usually starting with home-row consonants before introducing matras and conjuncts.

How to prepare

  • Use typing tutor software configured specifically for Remington Gail - most exam authorities recommend or provide one, and practicing on a different layout won't transfer directly.
  • Build accuracy before speed. Government exams calculate net WPM by penalizing errors, so a slower, accurate typist often outscores a fast, sloppy one.
  • Practice on real exam-style paragraphs rather than random words, since exams test continuous passage typing.
  • Track your progress over time rather than judging a single session - typing speed improves steadily with consistent short daily practice, not occasional long sessions.

Whichever layout your exam requires, the underlying skills - accuracy, rhythm, and reading ahead of your fingers - transfer between layouts. Our Hindi Typing Speed Test measures your WPM and accuracy on exam-style Hindi passages so you can track that progress regardless of which keyboard layout or software you eventually type on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Remington Gail keyboard layout?
Remington Gail (also written "Remington GAIL") is a Hindi typing layout descended from mechanical Hindi typewriters. Key positions were assigned for typewriter mechanics and typist convenience rather than phonetic logic, so it must be learned through practice and muscle memory rather than reasoning from the Devanagari alphabet.
Which exams require the Remington Gail layout?
Many Indian government typing exams - including several SSC posts, state PSC clerical exams, and court/judiciary typist and stenographer posts - specify Remington Gail as the required or default layout. Some exams let you choose between Remington Gail and Inscript; always check your specific exam notification, since the requirement varies by recruiting body and year.
Is Remington Gail the same on every keyboard?
The logical key mapping is standardized, but you need Remington Gail-compatible typing software or a font/keyboard driver configured for it (as opposed to Inscript or a phonetic input method) to get correct output. Exam centres typically provide the required software and layout - practicing on the same layout beforehand is what matters most.
How is Remington Gail different from Inscript?
Remington Gail follows the historical mechanical typewriter key arrangement and is not phonetic - you memorize key positions independent of pronunciation. Inscript is a newer, government-standardized layout designed so vowels and consonants are grouped logically across the keyboard, and the same physical layout is reused for other Indic scripts (Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, etc.) with the same finger positions.
How do I practice for a Remington Gail typing exam?
Use typing tutor software configured for Remington Gail (often provided or recommended by the exam authority) and practice daily on exam-style paragraphs. Our Hindi Typing Speed Test measures your WPM and accuracy on real passages and is a good way to track progress regardless of which layout you eventually type on.

Related Tools

Inscript Keyboard Layout

The government-standard alternative layout for Hindi and other Indic scripts.

Hindi Typing Speed Test

Measure your WPM and accuracy on exam-style Hindi passages.