Kruti Dev vs Unicode: Which to Use for Government Work

The difference in one picture

Both look the same on screen and on paper. What differs is what the file stores.

Kruti Dev stores English key codes and relies on its font to draw them as Hindi. Unicode stores the Devanagari letters themselves, so any Hindi font - Mangal, Nirmala UI, Kokila, Noto Sans Devanagari - can show them, and any program can search, sort or spell-check them.

Side by side

• Opens correctly everywhere: Unicode does. Kruti Dev only where the font is installed.
• Phones, WhatsApp, email, Google Docs: Unicode works, but Kruti Dev shows English letters.
• Search: searching a Unicode file for भारत finds it. In a Kruti Dev file you would have to search for Hkkjr.
• Websites, portals and e-Office: expect Unicode.
• Many typing exams, courts and district offices: still use Kruti Dev on the Remington layout.
• Printing: both print the same.

What official guidance says

For years the central government's Department of Official Language has encouraged offices to use Unicode for Hindi, and national systems such as NIC's e-Office expect Unicode text. In practice adoption is uneven: many state departments, courts and tehsil offices still work from Kruti Dev templates, and many recruitment typing tests still ask for it. If your department has issued an instruction, follow it. If not, the rule below works.

A practical rule

1. New documents: type in Unicode. They will open correctly for the next reader, and the one after that.
2. Templates that must stay Kruti Dev: keep them in Kruti Dev, and keep a Unicode copy of anything that will be emailed or uploaded.
3. Old records: convert them to Unicode when you next need them. A converted file can be searched, which matters more each year as archives grow.
4. Exams: practise in whatever the notification names - often Kruti Dev on Remington, though some exams, such as CPCT, use Unicode with InScript or a Remington layout.

Common worries about switching

• "Our typists only know Remington." They can keep it. A Unicode Remington layout, or typing in Kruti Dev and converting, gives Unicode output from the same fingers. The Remington Hindi keyboard shows the idea: Remington keys in, Unicode out.
• "Will printouts look different?" Only the typeface changes. Mangal and Nirmala UI look a little different from Kruti Dev 010, but the text is identical, and letters, orders and notices print as before.
• "Our old files will stop working." They will not. Kruti Dev files keep opening wherever the font is installed. Convert them when you need them, not all at once.

Moving an office to Unicode: a checklist

1. List the templates that must stay Kruti Dev (a court format, an exam form) and leave those alone.
2. Convert the rest as they come up, and file the Unicode copy next to the original.
3. Check every converted document's names, figures and dates before it goes out.
4. Set Mangal or Nirmala UI as the Hindi font in Word's Normal template so new files start in Unicode.
5. Keep PDFs of anything that must look exactly as signed.

Moving between them without damage

Conversion is not a letter-for-letter swap. Kruti Dev types the ि sign before its consonant and the reph (र्) after its syllable. Unicode stores both the other way round. Split vowel signs and conjuncts such as क्ष, त्र and द्ध need care too. A careless converter produces text that looks nearly right and is wrong in exactly the words that matter: names and legal terms.

The converters on this site do this reordering and are tested on real documents: Kruti Dev to Unicode, Unicode to Kruti Dev and Kruti Dev to Mangal. They run in your browser, so draft orders and personal records are never uploaded.