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Click on Sign Up button on the top-right corner of the page and login using your facebook or google account. Or better, create your own NeoStencil account! A confirmation message “Check Your Email To Activate Your Account!” will flash on your screen. Check your inbox and click on the link in the mail. Done? Welcome aboard!

Once registered, you can login by clicking on "Login" button on the top-right corner of the page. You would need the same username and password you used while registering (quick note: username and email address may or may not be the same)

No problem! Click on the "Login" button and you will notice next to the password field, a question mark for forgot the password.

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From searching for your favorite course on our home page to browsing, it’s easy with NeoStencil. You can see our popular courses right on the home page. For all courses, hit "Courses" tab on the main menu. There, you can see all courses offered on NeoStencil. To see all courses offered alongside the ones for which you have registered under, hit "My Courses" tab on the same menu.

To see a list of teachers, just click the "Teachers" tab on the main menu. Click on the teacher of your choice to see more details and a link to their NeoProfile, where detailed information on experience, instituteAchievements, student selections etc. is posted.

We know you are determined and have clarity of the course and teacher you want. That’s why the first thing you will see on our home page is a search bar where you can search the courses or teachers of your choice

Awesome! On the course page that you wish to take, you will see that on the right side, there is a "Buy Course" button. Click on that button. It will take you to the checkout options. Fill out your billing details, apply a coupon if you have one and select your payment method. Once you place an order, you will receive the order receipt immediately. After that, we will process your order and soon send you an email confirming that your order has been completed. And voila - you're ready. Access the course lectures, LIVE!

Not a problem, all you have to do is clear the cache and cookies from the history panel of your laptop/PC/mobile, refresh the page and retry.

No-Questions-Asked Refund Policy: For courses below Rs 8000, you can avail a refund within 24 hours, and for higher value courses, you may do so within 72 hours. Please note, in certain courses, the refund policy may differ. Do refer to the refund policy on the specific course page to be certain.

We have a strict no-sharing policy. Just like in a physical classroom where you would purchase a course for yourself alone, the courses we offer work exactly the same way. You may use multiple devices to access your course, however, our technical team keeps a strict vigilance, and if any misconduct is found we take strict action - starting with membership cancellation, raising a police report, claim for potential damages and whatever else our legal team deems fit.

Each video seen by a student is uniquely watermarked with identifying user data including user ID, IP etc at many places in both visible and invisible format. Therefore, our tech team is effectively able to track down users that are abusing the system and in breach of terms of service. In several cases which are under police investigation, it was found that the person with whom the account is shared is more likely to engage in illegal copyright infringement of video sharing. However, this happens at the initiator's (original buyer's) expense since as the purchaser of the services, he is liable for upholding the terms of services. The person who shared or bought would most likely be not able to join any Government job. Therefore, we strictly advise against sharing your account even with close friends and family members.

Our extensive technical set up including special cameras and microphones in actual classrooms combined with an internet connection help us stream classes live to you through our platform.

All classes can be accessed unlimited times within your course validity. So, you can catch up on a missed class, or simply revise by viewing same classes multiple times. There is no restriction. So you never miss a class again.

No worries. We'd love hearing from you. You can reach us instantly through online chat (see the right-bottom corner of your browser), call us at +91 9599075552 / +91 9599075553 or just drop us an email at info@neostencil.com.

Our working hours are 9 to 7 - six days a week. If you contact us outside our work hours, we'll get back to you the very next working day.

A GUIDE TO DRESS CODE FOR UPSC/IAS PERSONALITY INTERVIEW

American Costume Designer Edith Head rightly said, “You can have anything you want if you dress for it” The culmination of months of grueling studying and clearing examinations by the candidates stands before them in the form of an interview board consisting of senior bureaucrats. The interviewers can ask a candidate just about anything under the sun. Therefore, UPSC interview is a crucial component of UPSC examination preparations.

The objective of the interview is to assess the overall personality of the interviewee which can only be understood in a personal interaction and is a golden opportunity for him or her to obtain high marks out of a total of 275 marks without a pen and paper but with verbal interaction alone!

However, the initial step in achieving the goal is to dress smartly for the UPSC civil interview. NeoStencil has prepared an exclusive UPSC Civil Interview guide for candidates whose interviews are just around the corner and for all other confident candidates.

UPSC/IAS Interview Dress Code

The result of the interview greatly depends upon the candidate’s performance in the interview but the candidates dressing sense and body language do play a crucial role in the overall impression on the interviewers. Prior to the big day, avoid eating/drinking out. Dos and Don’ts of UPSC Interview Dress Code

What to wear for UPSC Personality Test/ UPSC Dress Code

• Wear clean and well-ironed clothes.
• Try to pick sober colours/light shades/simple prints
• Male Candidates must wear light coloured full sleeved formal shirts and dark trousers.
• A neck-tie isn’t necessary.
• Male Candidates should wear light coloured shirts like white, light blue or cream.
• Shoes should be polished and can be accompanied by a simple wrist watch and a mild cologne.
• Females candidates can either opt for a simple saree or even a salwar suit depending on their comfort level.
• Wear low-heeled shoes that do not make a lot of noise.
• Female candidates must tie their hair neatly and wear minimum makeup.
• Carry a handkerchief as well.

What NOT to wear for UPSC Personality Test/UPSC Dress code

• Avoid wearing ill-fitting clothing.
• Avoid bright colors/shades/prints.
• Do not wear casual clothes like jeans and T-shirts.
• Try to avoid strong perfume/cologne.
• Do not wear bling neckpiece/jewellery or too much of jewellery on a whole.
• Candidates must not wear sneakers or flip-flops.
• Male candidates should avoid sporting a beard and long hair too.

In the end, your attire must be such that it gives importance to the occasion. Be comfortable and carry yourself confidently for your IAS interview.

In UPSC Examinations, all subjects can be considered equally as every subject has its own pros and cons. As History is a part of General Studies Section, it might act as an advantage to those UPSC aspirants who choose History as their optional subject.

Dwelling into the past and learning more about world and Indian history is interesting in itself. Students who religiously study History for the General Studies Section for UPSC Prelims might find it helpful if they pick History as an optional subject for Mains.

Some of the aspects of History include Modern Indian history, significant events, personalities, issues during the middle of the eighteenth century until the present. A student might not feel the need to attend coaching for History optional. However, that remains a personal choice.

If the candidate is an avid reader, they might be able to read basic history novels. Otherwise, the subject helps the candidate in developing a reading habit and ultimately help in attempting the essay section.

Some of the cons of choosing history as an optional object include a vast syllabus with a lot of information to remember. Candidates from a non-humanities background might find it a little difficult to catch up in the beginning.

The candidate might find History exhaustive as the candidate has to go through every minute detail.

About NeoStencil- Live Learning Platform

NeoStencil offers History optional among other subjects through its unique LIVE learning platform for IAS/UPSC test preparation where you can access classrooms and test series program of the best teachers of India, from the comfort of your home. Students can interact with the teacher and other students enrolled in the same virtual class.

Indian Civil Service examination, popularly called as IAS exam is conducted by Union Public Service Commission, central agency to recruit central government employees IAS, IPS, IES etc.

Distance need to be traveled to reach Mussoorie (to become IAS)

UPSC Civil service exam is conducted every year in three stages:

• Preliminary Exam
• Main Exam
• Personality Test

Preliminary Exam:

It is an objective exam (Multiple Choice Questions) consist of two papers General Studies Paper 1 and 2. It is a qualifying paper for appearing mains exam.

GS Paper 1 (100 questions) - 200 marks - 2 hours duration
GS Paper 2 CSAT (80 Questions) - 200 marks - 2 hours duration

In the preliminary exam, minimum marks of 66.6 marks need to be obtained in GS Paper 2 - CSAT (Pattern changed in 2015 prelims onwards). (Students scored below 66.6 is disqualified for Mains)

The qualification for mains examination completely depends upon the candidate's performance in GS Paper 1. (Every year cut-off varies depending upon the Question Paper)

Note: Prelims examination has negative marking (1/3rd of allotted mark is deducted for wrong answers). Prelims marks are not included in final marks.

Mains Examination:

The candidates those who qualified in the Preliminary exam are allowed to write Mains examination.

Mains examination is written examination consists of 9 papers. IAS qualification depends upon the candidate's performance in IAS mains written examination.

1. Language Paper (Regional Language) - 300 Marks - 3 hours (Qualifying Paper)
2. English - 300 Marks - 3 hours (Qualifying Paper)
3. Essay - 250 Marks - 3 hours
4. GS Paper 1 - 250 Marks - 3 hours
5. GS Paper 2 - 250 Marks - 3 hours
6. GS Paper 3 - 250 Marks - 3 hours
7. GS Paper 4 - 250 Marks - 3 hours
8. Optional Paper 1 - 250 Marks - 3 hours
9. Optional Paper 2 - 250 Marks - 3 hours

Total Marks is 1750 in mains written examination.

Note: Medium of writing can be Hindi, English or also in regional language.

Personality Test:

The candidates those who qualified in Mains examination is called for IAS interview or personality test. The personality test is conducted in UPSC Delhi for 275 marks.

Final merit list will be prepared by UPSC based on the candidate's performance in Mains written examination (1750 marks) and Personality Test (275 marks), total 2025 marks.

The minimum age qualification for appearing UPSC IAS exam is 21 years and should not be more than 32 years old. There is a certain exemption to other category candidates.

Category	Max age Limit(in yrs)
General	32
OBC	35
SC/ST	37
PH	Gen-42, OBC-45, SC/ST-47 years

UPSC revised the number of attempts in each category in 2013. Based on the maximum number of attempts are

Category	Number of attempts
General	6
OBC	9
SC/ST	Unlimited
PH	Unlimited

Candidates are allowed to write in either English or Hindi or in regional languages.

List of Language medium allowed in UPSC examination

• Assamese
• Bengali
• Gujarati
• Kannada
• Kashmiri
• Konkani
• Malayalam
• Manipuri
• Marathi
• Nepali
• Odia
• Punjabi
• Sanskrit
• Sindi
• Tamil
• Telugu
• Urdu
• Bodo
• Dogri
• Maithili
• Santhali

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The candidate must hold a degree of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India.

candidate must hold a degree in educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University Under Section-3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification

Note: Final Year graduate students can also apply, but before interview degree should have been completed.