Punjabi Keyboard and Raavi Font

Last updated: 21 September 2026

Font and layout are two different things

This trips up almost everyone the first time. A font decides what the letters look like. A keyboard layout decides which key produces which letter. Raavi is a font. INSCRIPT is a layout. A notice can name one, the other, or both, and they answer different questions.

PSSSB Advertisement No. 02 of 2026 names the font: Punjabi is to be typed in the Unicode compliant font Raavi. The Board's separate typing-test instruction sheets, issued for its 2021, 2022 and 2023 Clerk recruitments, name the layout: "The Candidates will have to type Punjabi passage in Unicode Compliant Raavi Font using INSCRIPT keyboard." Both halves matter, because practising the right font on the wrong layout teaches you nothing useful.

Why Raavi specifically

Raavi is a Unicode font. The letter ਕ is stored as the character ਕ, so the text survives copy and paste, email and search, and displays correctly on any machine with a Gurmukhi font. Legacy Punjabi fonts such as AnmolLipi and Asees store Gurmukhi in slots a normal computer reads as Latin letters, which is why text in them turns into nonsense when the font is missing. Asking for Unicode Raavi is how the Board makes sure your answer script is readable on its own machines.

Add the Punjabi keyboard on Windows 11

1. Open language settingsSelect Start › Settings, then Time & language › Language & region.
2. Add PunjabiNext to Preferred languages, select Add a language. Search for "Punjabi", choose the Gurmukhi entry for India, and select Next.
3. Install the language packLeave Install language pack ticked and select Install. This downloads, so stay online.
4. Add the keyboard layoutBack on Language & region, find Punjabi in the list and open its Options (the three-dot menu). Under Keyboards, select Add a keyboard and pick the arrangement your notice names. Check the names in the list rather than assuming; Windows offers more than one Gurmukhi arrangement.
5. Install the Raavi fontRaavi is not part of the base install. Go to Settings › Apps › Optional features › Add an optional feature and add Gurmukhi Supplemental Fonts. Microsoft's own font documentation points to this feature for Raavi.
6. Switch to PunjabiPress Win + Space to cycle input methods, or click the language indicator in the taskbar near the clock.

On Windows 10 the path is nearly identical — Settings › Time & Language › Language — and Win + Space works the same way.

Common problems

Punjabi shows as empty boxes

The font in use has no Gurmukhi glyphs. Select the text and switch it to Raavi or another Gurmukhi font. If Raavi is not in the font list, add the Gurmukhi Supplemental Fonts optional feature as in step 5.

Punjabi shows as random Latin letters

You are looking at legacy font text, typically AnmolLipi or Asees, displayed in a Unicode font. Apply the original font to that text, or convert it to Unicode. Do not submit legacy text where a notice asks for Unicode Raavi.

The keys do not match what I expected

Check which arrangement you added. INSCRIPT follows spoken order: the consonant first, then the vowel sign. Phonetic layouts map Gurmukhi onto the English letters that sound similar, which is easier to start with but is not what the Board's instructions name.

Raavi is installed but the exam centre machine looks different

Practise the layout, not the appearance. The centre supplies its own machine; what carries over is where your fingers expect each character to be.

Practising the layout

Our Punjabi typing test runs Gurmukhi InScript in the browser with no installation, and the lesson sequence includes 24 Punjabi lessons that start from key positions and build to passages. The first one is free. For the exam pattern itself, use the PSSSB Clerk profile, and read the PSSSB typing test rules for what the Board requires and what it has not yet published.

Start the Punjabi lessons →

Source note

Checked 21 September 2026. The Raavi font requirement comes from PSSSB Advertisement No. 02 of 2026, page 6, paragraph 7. The INSCRIPT keyboard comes from the Board's "Important Instructions for Candidates regarding Typing Test" for Advertisement No. 3/2021, Advertisements 17, 18 and 19 of 2021 and Advertisements 02, 03 and 15 of 2022; none of the three is issued under the 2026 advertisement, which names no layout. Font details and the Gurmukhi Supplemental Fonts requirement from Microsoft's Raavi font documentation, checked 21 September 2026. Keyboard steps follow Microsoft's language and keyboard instructions. The Punjabi text on this site has not been reviewed by a native Punjabi speaker; the layout and font facts above come from the documents cited.

Frequently asked questions

Is Raavi a keyboard layout?

No. Raavi is a Unicode Gurmukhi font. The keyboard layout named in the Board's typing instructions is INSCRIPT.

Does Windows include the Raavi font?

Not in the base install on current versions. Microsoft's documentation says to add the optional feature "Gurmukhi Supplemental Fonts" to get it.

Which Punjabi keyboard does PSSSB use?

The Board's instruction sheets for its 2021, 2022 and 2023 Clerk recruitments name the INSCRIPT keyboard with Unicode Raavi. Advertisement No. 02 of 2026 names the font but no layout, so check the sheet issued for your own cycle.

Can I type Punjabi without installing anything?

On this site, yes. Keystrokes are mapped in the browser, so Gurmukhi InScript works on an ordinary English Windows machine. Typing Punjabi in other programs needs the Windows setup above.

What is the difference between Raavi and AnmolLipi?

Raavi is Unicode, so the text stays readable anywhere. AnmolLipi is a legacy font that stores Gurmukhi in Latin character slots, so the text turns into nonsense without the font installed. A notice asking for Unicode Raavi is ruling the legacy fonts out.

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