Comparison
Krutidev vs Remington Keyboard
Short answer: Krutidev is a font, Remington is a keyboard layout, and Krutidev uses the Remington layout. They are different things that work together.
The One-Line Answer
Krutidev is the car (the font that renders text). Remington is the road map (the keyboard layout that defines where each key goes). The car follows the road map. Other cars (DevLys, Mangal with Remington GAIL) follow the same road map with minor detours.
Font vs Layout - Point by Point
| Aspect | Krutidev (Font) | Remington (Layout) |
|---|---|---|
| What Is It | A font file (KrutiDev010.ttf) | A keyboard layout standard |
| What It Does | Renders ASCII bytes as Hindi glyphs | Defines which key maps to which Hindi character |
| Can You Install It | Yes - download and install the .ttf file | No install needed - it is a layout that fonts implement |
| Created By | Indian font developers (1990s) | Remington Rand (1960s Hindi typewriters) |
| Used By | Krutidev font users | Krutidev, DevLys, Chanakya, and other legacy Hindi fonts |
| Unicode Equivalent | No direct equivalent (non-Unicode font) | Remington GAIL layout works with Mangal (Unicode) |
| Exam Reference | "Krutidev font" in exam notification | "Remington layout" or "Remington keyboard" in exam notification |
How Remington Became India's Hindi Keyboard
In the 1960s, Remington Rand (the American typewriter manufacturer) designed a Hindi keyboard layout for the Indian market. They placed the most frequently typed Hindi consonants on the home row: क (d key), ल (k), स (l), र (j), and ा matra (k). The arrangement optimized for typing speed, not for Devanagari alphabet order.
Hundreds of thousands of government typists learned this layout on Remington mechanical typewriters. When computers arrived in India in the 1980s-90s, font developers faced a choice: create a new, potentially better layout, or preserve the layout that millions already knew. They preserved it.
Krutidev 010, created in the 1990s, mapped the Remington key positions to ASCII code points. Press "d" (the physical key where Remington placed "क") and Krutidev renders "क". DevLys 010 did the same with slightly different character assignments for a few keys. Both fonts follow the Remington blueprint.
When India standardized Unicode Hindi typing, GAIL (Gas Authority of India Limited) created the "Remington GAIL" input method. This kept the same key positions but outputted Unicode characters instead of ASCII. A typist who learned Krutidev could switch to Mangal font with Remington GAIL and type at nearly the same speed from day one.
What This Means for Exam Candidates
When a CPCT exam notification says "Krutidev/Remington keyboard," it means you can use either: the Krutidev font directly, or the Remington GAIL input method with a Unicode font. The key positions are the same. Your muscle memory transfers.
When a notification says only "Krutidev font," the exam software specifically uses the Krutidev 010 font. You type in Krutidev encoding. When it says "Remington layout" without specifying a font, the exam typically uses Mangal with Remington GAIL, but the typing experience is identical.
Bottom line: if you know one, you know both. Practice with our typing test using the Krutidev font, and you are simultaneously practicing the Remington layout.