Important ABBREVIATIONS
| A | |
| AAFI | Amateur Athletics Federation of India |
| AAGSP | All-Assam Gana Sangram Parishad |
| AARRO | Afro-Asian Rural Reconstruction Organization |
| ABC | Atomic Biological and Chemical (warfare); Audit Bureau of Circulation; American (or Australian) Broadcasting Co. |
| ABM | Anti-Ballistic Missiles |
| ABU | Asian Broadcasting Union |
| ACC | Auxiliary Cadet Corps |
| CE | Anno Domini (after Christ) |
| ADB | Asian Development Bank |
| ADF | African Development Fund |
| ADMK | Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam |
| AEC | Atomic Energy Commission |
| AFC | Asian Football Confederation |
| AFPRO | Action for Food Programme |
| AGSOC | Asian Games Special Organizing Committee |
| AIADMK | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| AICS | All India Council of Sports |
| AICTE | All India Council of Technical Education |
| AIDS | Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome |
| AIFACS | All India Fine Arts and Craft Society |
| AIFF | All India Football Federation |
| AIILSG | All India Institute of Local Self Government |
| AIIMS | All India Institute of Medical Sciences |
| AIML | All India Muslim League |
| AIMO | All India Manufacturers’ Organization |
| AIREC | All India Railway Employee’s Confederation |
| AISSF | All India Sikh Students Federation |
| AITUC | All India Trade Union Congress |
| AIWC | All India Women’s Conference |
| AM | Ante Meridien (before noon); Amplitude Modulation. |
| AMC | Army Medical Corps |
| AMIE | Associated Member of the Institute of Engineers |
| AOC | Air Officer Commanding |
| APEC | Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation |
| APPLE | Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment |
| ARC | Administrative Reforms Commission |
| ARDC | Agricultural Refinance and Development Corporation |
| ASC | Army Service Corps |
| ASEAN | Association of South East Asian Nations |
| ASLV | Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| ASPAC | Asian and Pacific Council |
| ASSOCHAM | Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry |
| ATC | Air Traffic Control |
| ATGM | Anti – Tank Guided Missile |
| ATM | Automated Teller Machine, Adobe Type Manager |
| ATS | Anti – Tetanus Serum |
| ATV | Advanced Technology Vessel |
| AVSM | Anti-Vishisht Seva Medal |
| AWACS | Airborne Warning and Control System |
| B | |
| B2B | Business to Business |
| B2C | Business to Consumer |
| BA | Baccalaureus Artium (Bachelor of Arts) |
| BALCO | Bharat Aluminium Company Limited |
| BARC | Bhabha Atomic Research Centre |
| BBC | British Broadcasting Corporation |
| BCE | Before Christ |
| BCCI | Board of Control for Cricket in India |
| BCG | Bacillus Calmette – Guerin (Anti – TB vaccine) |
| BENELUX | Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg |
| BHEL | Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. |
| BIFR | Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction |
| BIMARU | Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh |
| BIMSTEC | Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation |
| BIS | Bank of International Settlement |
| BOAC | British Overseas Airways Corporation (now British Airways) |
| BOLT | Bombay Stock Exchange On-Line Trading; Building Operate-Lease-Transfer |
| BPE | Bureau of Public Enterprises |
| BPL | Below Poverty Line |
| BPO | Business Process Outsourcing |
| BPR | Business Process Reengineering |
| BPS | Bytes Per Sound |
| BREAD | Basic Research Education and Development Society |
| BRO | Border Roads Organization |
| BSE | Bombay Stock Exchange |
| BSF | Border Security Force |
| BSNL | Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited |
| BSS | Bharat Sewa Samaj |
| C | |
| C.V. | Curriculum Vitae |
| C/O | Care of |
| C2C | Consumer to Consumer |
| CA | Chartered Accountant |
| CABE | Central Advisory Board for Education |
| CAD | Command Area Development; Computer Aided Design |
| CAG | Comptroller and Auditor General of India |
| CARE | Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere |
| CASTAP | Conference on Application of Science and Technology in Asia and the Pacific |
| CAT | Career Aptitude Test; Common Admission Test; Computerized Axial Tomography (also called CT); Computer Adaptive Test |
| CBDT | Central Board of Direct Taxes |
| CBFC | Central Board of Film Certification |
| CBI | Central Bureau of Investigation |
| CBM | Confidence Building Measures |
| CBR | Central Board of Revenue |
| CBSE | Central Board of Secondary Education |
| CBU | Completely Built-up |
| CD | Compact Disk; Certificate of deposit |
| CDMA | Code Division Multiple Access |
| CDRI | Central Drug Research Institute |
| CDS | Compulsory Deposit Scheme |
| CEFIPAR | Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research |
| CENTO | Central Treaty Organization |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CFSI | Children’s Film Society of India |
| CFTRI | Central Food Technological Research Institute |
| CGHS | Central Government Health Service |
| CHEC | Commonwealth Human Economic Council |
| CHOGM | Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting |
| CHOGRM | Commonwealth Heads of Government Regional Meeting |
| CIA | Central Intelligence Agency |
| CIET | Central Institute of Educational Technology |
| CII | Confederation of Indian Industry |
| C-IN-C | Commander-in-Chief |
| CIS | Commonwealth of Independent States |
| CITU | Centre of Indian Trade Unions |
| CIWTC | Central Inland Water Transport Corporation |
| CKD | Completely Knocked Down |
| CLAWS | Centre for Land Welfare Studies |
| CLRC | Central Land Reforms Committee |
| CMAG | Commonwealth Ministerial Fund |
| CMIE | Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy |
| CMP | Common Minimum Programme |
| CNC | Computerised Numerical Control |
| CNN | Cable News Network |
| CO | Commanding Officer |
| COFEPOSA | Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities |
| COMECON | Council for Mutual Economic Assistance |
| COMEX | Commonwealth Expedition |
| COMSAT | Communications Satellite Corporation |
| CONCORD | Council of North Indian States for Cooperation and Regional Development |
| CORDET | Cooperative Rural Development Trust |
| CPI/M | Communist Party of India/Marxist |
| CRISIL | Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd |
| CRM | Customer Relations Management |
| CRPF | Central Reserve Police Force |
| CRR | Cash Reserve Ratio |
| CRRI | Central Road Research Institute |
| CRY | Child Relief and You |
| CSIO | Central Scientific Instruments Organization |
| CSIR | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research |
| CSIRO | Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization |
| CSO | Central Statistical Organization |
| CTBT | Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty |
| CWC | Chemical Weapons Convention |
| D | |
| DPhil | Doctor of Philosophy |
| DSc | Doctor of Science |
| DLitt | Doctor of Literature |
| DA | Dearness Allowance |
| DAE | Department of Atomic Energy |
| DAP | Di-Ammonium Nitrate |
| DDT | Dichloro Diphyenyl Trichloroethane |
| DGCA | Director-General of Civil Aviation |
| DGS and D | Director-General of Supplies and Disposals |
| DGTD | Director-General of Technical Development |
| DIA | Defense Intelligence Agency |
| DIG | Deputy Inspector General |
| DLF | Development Loans Fund |
| DLO | Dead Letter Office |
| DMK | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| DMKP | Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic Acid |
| DO | Demi Official |
| DOD | Department of Ocean Development |
| DPEP | District Primary Education Programme |
| DPI | Director of Public Instruction |
| DPT | Diphtheria, Pertussis, and Tetanus (Vaccine) |
| DRDL | Defense Research and Development Laboratory |
| DRDO | Defense Research and Development Organization |
| DRI | Differential Rate of Interest |
| DSB | Digital Satellite Broadcasting |
| DSIDC | Defense Scientific Information and Documentation Centre |
| DSL | Digital Subscriber Line |
| DSP | Digital Signal Processing |
| DTP | Desktop Publishing |
| DTS | Digital Theatre System |
| DV | Deo Volenre (God willing) |
| DVD | Digital Versatile / Video Disc |
| E | |
| e.g., | Exempli Gratia (for example) |
| EARC | Economic Administrative Reforms Commission |
| ECA | Economic Commission for Asia; Essential Commodities Act |
| ECAFE | Economic Commission for Asia and Far East (now ESCAP) |
| ECGC | Export Credit and Guarantee Corporation of India |
| ECHR | European Commission on Human Rights |
| ECM | European Common Market |
| ECOSOC | Economic and Social Council (of UN) |
| EDCIL | Educational Consultants India Limited |
| EEC | European Economic Community |
| EEG | Electro Encephalogram |
| EEZ | Exclusive Economic Zone |
| EFTA | European Free Trade Association |
| Electronic Mailing | |
| EMI | Equated Monthly Instalment |
| ENLF | Eelam National Liberation Front |
| ENT | Ear, Nose, and Throat |
| EPZ | Export Processing Zone |
| EQ | Emotional Quotient |
| ERM | European Exchange Rate Mechanism |
| ESA | European Space Agency |
| ESCAP | Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific |
| ESG | Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council |
| ESI | Employee State Insurance |
| ESMA | Essential Services Maintenance Act |
| EURATOM | European Atomic Community |
| F | |
| FACTS | Fingerpoint Analysis and Criminal Tracing System |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| FBTR | Fast Breeder Test Reactor |
| FCI | Food Corporation of India; Fertilizer Corporation of India |
| FCNRA | Foreign Currency Non-Resident Accounts |
| FCRA | Foreign Contribution Regulation Act |
| FEMA | Foreign Exchange Management Act |
| FERA | Foreign Exchange Regulation Act |
| FFC | Film Finance Corporation |
| FICCI | Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry |
| FIFA | International Football Federation (Federation International de Football Association) |
| FII | Foreign Institutional Investors |
| FIPB | Foreign Investment Promotion Board |
| FIR | First Information Report |
| FIRE | Fully Integrated Robotized Engine |
| FLAG | Frequency modulation |
| Fob | Free on board |
| For | Free on rail |
| FRCP | Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians |
| FRCS | Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| G | |
| G7 | Group of Seven (USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, and Canada); G8 includes G7 plus Russia |
| GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Practices |
| GAIL | Gas Authority of India Limited |
| GARP | Global Atmospheric Research Project |
| GATE | Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering |
| GATS | General Agreement on Trade and Services |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GCC | Gulf Cooperation Council |
| GCMMF | Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GDR | Global Depository Receipt |
| GEC | General Electric Company |
| GEMS | Gateway Electronic Mail Service |
| GHQ | General Headquarters |
| GIC | General Insurance Corporation |
| GIS | Geographical Information System |
| GMAT | Graduate Management Admission Test |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time |
| GMUNET | Global Mega University Net |
| GNLF | Gorkha National Liberation Front |
| GNP | Gross National Product |
| GOC | General Officer Commanding |
| GPS | Global Positioning System |
| GRE | Graduate Record Examination |
| GSI | Geological Survey of India |
| GSLV | Geo-Synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| GSM | Global System for Mobil Communications |
| GSP | Generalised System Preference |
| GSTP | Global System of Trade Practices |
| GTTS | Global Travel and Tourism Summit |
| H | |
| HAL | Hindustan Aeronautics Limited |
| HAREDA | Haryana State Energy Development Agency |
| HBV | Hepatitis – B Virus |
| HEC | Heavy Engineering Corporation |
| HESCO | Himalayan Environment Studies and Conservation Organization |
| HF | High Frequency |
| HICG | High Technology Cooperation Group |
| HIV | Human Immunodeficiency Virus |
| HLC | Humanitarian Law Commission (Red Cross) |
| HMI | Himalayan Mountaineering Institute |
| HMT | Hindustan Machine Tools |
| HMV | His Master’s Voice, Heavy Motor Vehicle |
| HSL | Hindustan Steel Limited |
| HT | High Tension |
| HTML | Hyper Text Markup |
| HTPB | Hydroxy – Terminated Poly – Butadine |
| http | Hypertext Transfer Protocol |
| HUDCO | Housing and Urban Development Corporation |
| HV | High Voltage |
| HVAC | Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning |
| HVNET | High Speed VSAT Network |
| HZL | Hindustan Zinc Limited |
| I | |
| i.e., | Id est (that is) |
| I.N.R.I | Iesus Nazarenus Rexludaeorum |
| IA | Indian Airlines |
| IAA | International Airport Authority |
| IAAI | International Airport Authority of India |
| IAAS | Indian Audit and Accounts Service |
| IAC | Indian Airlines Corporation |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency |
| IAFC | Indian Agricultural Finance Corporation |
| IAMC | Indian Army Medical Corps |
| IARI | Indian Agriculture Research Institute |
| IAS | Indian Administrative Service |
| IASRI | Indian Agricultural Statistical Research Institute |
| IATA | International Air Transport Association |
| IBEC | International Bank for Economic Cooperation |
| IBM | International Business Machines |
| IBRD | International Bank for Reconstruction and Development |
| ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| ICAR | Indian Council of Agricultural Research |
| ICBM | Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile |
| ICCR | Indian Council for Cultural Relations |
| ICHR | Indian Council of Historical Research |
| ICICI | Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India |
| ICJ | International Court of Justice |
| ICMR | Indian Council of Medical Research |
| ICPD | International Conference on Population and Development |
| ICRA | Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India |
| ICRC | International Committee of Red Cross |
| ICRIER | Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations |
| ICSE | Indian Certificate of Secondary Education |
| ICSI | Institute of Company Secretaries of India; Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection |
| ICSSR | Indian Council of Social Sciences Research |
| ICSW | Indian Council of Social Welfare |
| ICU | Intensive Care Unit |
| ICWA | Indian Council of World Affairs |
| IDA | International Development Agency |
| IDBI | Industrial Development Bank of India |
| IDC | Industrial Development Corporation |
| IDPL | Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited |
| IDRC | International Development Research Centre |
| IDSA | Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses |
| IEEE | Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers |
| IELTS | International English Language Testing System |
| IETE | Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers |
| IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development |
| IFC | Industrial Finance Corporation; International Finance Corporation |
| IFCI | Industrial Finance Corporation of India |
| IFFI | International Film Festival of India |
| IFS | Indian Foreign Service; Indian Forest Service |
| IGNOU | Indira Gandhi National Open University |
| IIFS | International Indian Film Academy |
| IIFT | Indian Institute of Foreign Trade |
| IIPA | Indian Institute of Public Administration |
| IIT | Indian Institute of Technology |
| ILO | International Labour Organization |
| IMAP | Internet Mail Access Protocol |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund |
| INMAS | Institute of Nuclear Medicines and Allied Sciences |
| INS | Indian Newspaper Society |
| INSAT | Indian National Satellite |
| INTELSAT | International Telecommunication Satellite |
| INTERPOL | International Criminal Police Commission |
| INTUC | Indian National Trade Union Congress |
| IOA | Indian Olympic Association |
| IOC | Indian Oil Corporation; International Olympic Committee |
| IOCOM | Indian Ocean Commonwealth |
| IOJ | International Organization of Journalists |
| IOU | I Owe You |
| IP | Internet Protocol |
| IPC | Indian Penal Code |
| IPCL | Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. |
| IPO | Initial Public Offering |
| IPS | Indian Police Service; |
| IPU | International Parliamentary Union |
| IQ | Intelligence Quotient |
| IRA | Irish Republican Army |
| IRBM | Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile |
| IRC | International Red Cross |
| IRCI | International Reconstruction Corporation of India |
| IRDP | Indian Rural Development Programme; Integrated Rural Development Programme |
| IREDA | Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency |
| IRRI | International Rice Research Institute |
| IRS | Indian Revenue Service |
| ISBA | International Sea-Bed Authority |
| ISBN | International Standard Book Number |
| ISC | Indian School Certificate |
| ISCI | Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection |
| ISDN | Integrated Services Digital Network |
| ISI | Indian Standards Institution, Inter-Services Intelligence |
| ISKCON | International Society for Krishna Consciousness |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| ISRO | Indian Space Research Organization |
| ISSN | International Standard Serial Number |
| IST | Indian Standard Time |
| ITBP | Indo-Tibetan Border Police |
| ITDC | Indian Tourism Development Corporation |
| ITI | Indian Telephone Industries; Industrial Training Institute |
| ITU | International Telecommunication Union |
| IUTF | International Union Trade Fairs |
| J | |
| JCO | Junior Commissioned Officer |
| JPEG | Joint Photographic Expert Group |
| JVM | Janata Vidhyarathi Morcha |
| K | |
| KAL | Korean Airlines |
| KANU | Kenya African National Union |
| KG | Kindergarten (method of teaching) |
| KKK | Ku Klux Klan (US secret society, Anti-Negro, Anti-Jewish) |
| KMT | Kuomintang (Chinese National Party) |
| KVIC | Khadi and Village Industries Commission |
| L | |
| LASER | Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation |
| LCA | Light Combat Aircraft |
| LCD | Liquid Crystal Display; Least Common Denominator |
| LCM | Lowest Common Multiple |
| LES | Lunar Escape System |
| LIC | Life Insurance Corporation (of India) |
| LL.B. | Bachelor of Laws |
| LPG | Liquefied Petroleum Gas |
| LSD | Dextor-lysergic and diethylamide |
| LT. Col. | Lieutenant Colonel |
| LTTE | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
| M | |
| MA | Magisiter Artium (Master of Arts) |
| MD | Doctor of Medicine |
| MAIF | Market Access Initiative Fund |
| MAMC | Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation |
| MBA | Master of Business Administration |
| MBBS | Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery |
| MDMA | Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency |
| MENA | Middle East News Agency |
| MFN | Most Favoured Nation |
| MI | Military Intelligence |
| MICR | Magnetic Ink Character Recognition |
| MISA | Maintenance of Internal Security Act |
| Misc | Miscellaneous |
| MIT | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Master Instruction Tape |
| MLA | Member of Legislative Assembly |
| MMTC | Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation |
| MNC | Multinational Corporation |
| MNNA | Major-Non-NATO Ally |
| MODEM | Modular Demodulator |
| MODVAT | Modified Value Added Tax |
| MOSFET | Metal Oxide Semi-conductor Field Effect Transistor |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MP | Member of Parliament; Madhya Pradesh |
| MPEG | Motion Picture Experts Group |
| Mph | Miles per hour |
| MPLAD | Member of Parliament Local Area Development |
| MRCP | Member of the Royal College of Physicians |
| MRD | Movement for Restoration of Democracy (Pakistan) |
| MRTPC | Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission |
| N | |
| NAA | National Airports Authority |
| NAAI | National Airport Authority of India |
| NABARD | National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development |
| NAC | National Advisory Council |
| NAFED | National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| NASA | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA) |
| NASDAQ | National Association of Software and Service Companies |
| NASSCOM | National Association of Securities Dealers Automated |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| NAV | Net Asset Value |
| NCA | National Commission of Agriculture |
| NCAER | National Council of Applied Economic Research |
| NCCF | National Calamity Contingency Fund |
| NCEPC | National Committee on Environmental Planning and Coordination |
| NCERT | National Council of Education Research and Training |
| NCST | National Committee of Science and Technology |
| NDA | National Defense Academy |
| NDC | National Development Council |
| NEERI | National Environmental Engineering Research Institute |
| NEPA | National Environment Protection Act |
| NFDC | National Film Development Corporation |
| NGO | Non-Government Organization; Non-Gazetted Officer |
| NGRI | National Geographical Research Institute |
| NIIT | National Institute of Information Technology |
| NIO | National Institute of Oceanography |
| NITIE | National Institute for Training in Industrial Engineering |
| NMDC | National Mineral Development Corporation |
| NPC | National Productivity Council |
| NPCIL | Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited |
| NPL | National Physical Laboratory |
| NPT | Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty |
| NRC | Nuclear Regulatory Commission |
| NRSA | National Remote Sensing Agency |
| NSC | National Service Corps |
| NSUI | National Students Union of India |
| NTPC | National Thermal Power Corporation |
| NTSC | National Television System Committee |
| O | |
| OANA | Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies |
| OAPEC | Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| OAS | Organization of American States |
| OAU | Organization of African Unity |
| OCR | Optical Character Recognition |
| OECD | Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| OIC | Organization of Islamic Conference |
| OK | All Correct (slang) |
| ONGC | Oil and Natural Gas Corporation |
| OPEC | Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
| P | |
| PAC | Public Accounts Committee; Political Affairs Committee |
| PAN | Permanent Account Number |
| PBX | Private Branch Exchange (for telephone) |
| PC | Per cent; Post Card, Personal Computer |
| PCM | Pulse Code Modulation |
| PCRA | Petroleum Conservation Research Association |
| PDA | Preventive Detention Act; Personal Digital Assistant |
| PEC | Projects and Equipment Corporation of India |
| PEN | Poets, Editors and Novelists Association |
| PERT | Programme Evaluation Review Technique |
| PETA | People for Ethical Treatment of Animals |
| PFA | Press Foundation of Asia; Prevention of Food Adulteration |
| PFBR | Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor |
| PGIMER | Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research |
| Ph.D | Doctor of Philosophy (Philosophiae Doctor) |
| PHC | Primary Health Centre |
| PHDCCI | Punjab, Haryana, Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industries |
| PIB | Public Investment Board; Press Information Bureau |
| PIL | Public Interest Litigation |
| PIM | Personal Information Management |
| PIN Code | Postal Index Number Code |
| Pixel | Picture Element |
| PLO | Palestine Liberation Organization |
| PLOTE | People’s Liberation Organization Tamil Eelam |
| PM | Post Meridiem; Prime Minister |
| PMG | Post Master General |
| PNR | Passenger Name Recorder |
| POK | Pakistan – Occupied Kashmir |
| POTA | Prevention of Terrorism Act |
| POW | Prisoner of War |
| PPP | Purchasing Power Parity; Point-to-Point Protocol |
| PREPAK | People’s Revolutionary Party of Kang-leipak (Imphal); |
| PRO | Public Relations Officer |
| PSC | Public Service Commission |
| PSLV | Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| PSN | Processor Serial Number |
| PTA | Parent – Teacher Association |
| PTI | Press Trust of India |
| PTO | Please Turn Over |
| PVC | Poly Vinyl Chloride; Param Vir Chakra |
| PWD | Public Works Department |
| Q | |
| QMC | Quarter – Master General |
| QR | Quantitative Restrictions |
| R | |
| RADAR | Radio Detecting and Ranging |
| RAM | Random Access Memory |
| RAW | Research and Analysis Wing |
| RBI | Reserve Bank of India |
| RCD | Regional Cooperation for Development |
| RDF | Rapid Deployment Force |
| RDX | Research Department Explosive (Cyclotrimethylene Trinitramine) |
| REC | Rural Electrification Corporation |
| RITES | Rail India Technical and Economic Services |
| RLEGS | Rural Landless Employment Guarantee |
| RNA | Ribonucleic Acid |
| RSS | Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh |
| RSVP | Respondez Sil Vous Plait (Reply if you Please) |
| S | |
| S and T | Science and Technology; Strategy and Technology |
| SAFHR | South Asian Forum for Human Rights |
| SAIL | Steel Authority of India Limited |
| SALT | Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty |
| SAPTA | South Asian Preferential Trade Agreement |
| SARS | Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome |
| SAT | Scholastic Aptitude Test |
| SATTE | South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange |
| SCI | Shipping Corporation of India |
| SCM | Supply Chain Management |
| SCUBA | Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus |
| SDR | Special Drawing Rights |
| SEATO | South-East Asia Treaty Organization |
| SEBI | Securities and Exchange Board of India |
| SENSEX | Sensitivity Index (of share price) |
| SERC | Structural Engineering Research Centre |
| SEZ | Special Economic Zone |
| SGRC | Siromani Gurudwara Prabandak Committee |
| SIHAM | Society for Indian Human and Animal Mycologists |
| SIM | Subscriber Information Module |
| SITA | Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act |
| SITE | Satellite Instructional Television Experiment |
| SJVN | Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam |
| SLFP | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| SLV | Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol |
| SNIPES | Society of National Institutes for Physical Education and Sports |
| SOHO | Small Office Home Office |
| SPCA | Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals |
| SPROB | Space Propellant Boost Plant |
| SPTM | Self-Printing Ticketing Machine |
| SSC | Staff Selection Commission |
| STAR (TV) | Satellite Television Asian Region Ltd. |
| START | Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty |
| STC | State Trading Corporation |
| STD | Subscriber Trunk Dialing; Sexually Transmitted Diseases |
| STP | Software Technology Park |
| SUNFED | Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development |
| SWAPO | South-West African People’s Organization |
| SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats |
| T | |
| TADA | Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act |
| TAPS | Tarapur Atomic Power Station |
| TAX | Trunk Automatic Exchange |
| TDA | Trade Development Authority |
| TELCO | Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company |
| TELEX | Teleprinter Exchange |
| TERLS | Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station |
| TFT | Thin-Film Transistor |
| THI | Temperature Humidity Index |
| TIFR | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research |
| TIPS | Technology and Information Pilot System |
| TISCO | Tata Iron and Steel Company |
| TLC | Total Literacy Campaign |
| TMO | Telegraphic Money Order |
| TNG | The Next Generation |
| TNT | Tri-Nitro-Toluene (Explosive) |
| TOEFL | Test of English as a Foreign Language |
| TPM | Total Productivity Maintenance |
| TQM | Total Quality Management |
| TRIMS | Trade Related Investment Measures |
| TRIPS | Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights |
| TRYSEM | (National Scheme) Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment |
| TUC | Trade Union Congress |
| U | |
| UAE | United Arab Emirates |
| UANC | United African National Council |
| UAR | United Arab Republic |
| UCIL | Uranium Corporation of India Ltd |
| UCTA | United Chambers of Trade Associations |
| UGC | University Grants Commission |
| UHF | Ultra-High Frequency |
| UNCED | United Nations Conference on Environment and Development |
| UNCIP | United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan |
| UNCITRAL | United Nations Conference on International Trade Law |
| UNCLOS | United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea |
| UNCNRSE | United Nations Conference for New and Renewable Sources of Energy |
| UNCOD | United Nations Conference on Desertification |
| UNCSTD | United Nations Conference on Science and Technology |
| UNCTAD | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNDC | United Nations Disarmament Commission |
| UNDOF | United Nations Disengagement Observer Force |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| UNEF | United Nations Emergency Force |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization |
| UNFPA | United Nations Fund for Population Activities |
| UNHCR | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
| UNI | United News of India |
| UNIC | United Nations Information Centre |
| UNICEF | United National International Children’s Emergency Fund (now ‘United Nations Children’s Fund’); United Nations International Children’s Education Fund |
| UNIDO | United Nations Industrial Development Organization |
| UNIFIL | United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon |
| UNISPACE | United Nations Conference on Peaceful Use of Space |
| UNITA | Union for the Total Independence of Angola |
| UNITAR | United Nations Institute for Training and Research |
| UNITC | United Nations International Trade Centre |
| UNLA | Uganda’s National Liberation Army |
| UNMOGIP | United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan |
| UNOPS | United Nations Office for Project Services |
| UNPROFOR | United Nations Protection Force |
| UNRRA | United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration |
| UNU | United Nations University |
| UPA | United Progressive Alliance |
| UPI | United Press International |
| UPS | Uninterrupted Power Supply |
| UPSC | Union Public Service Commission |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator |
| USAID | United States Agency for International Development |
| USIS | United States Information Service |
| UNC TAD | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| USP | Unique Selling Proposition |
| V | |
| VABAL | Value – Based Advance Licensing |
| VAN | Virtual Area Network |
| VAT | Value Added Tax |
| VATIS | Value Added Technology Information Service |
| VCR | Video Cassette Recorder |
| VD | Venereal Disease |
| VHS | Video Home System |
| VIP | Very Important Person |
| VIRUS | Vital Information Resources Under Siege |
| VPI | Virtual Private Internet |
| VPP | Value Payable Post |
| VRDE | Vehicle Research and Development Establishment |
| VRS | Voluntary Retirement Scheme |
| VSAT | Very Small Aperture Terminal |
| VSP | Visakhapatnam Steel Plant |
| VSSC | Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre |
| VTEC | Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control |
| VTR | Video Tape Recorder |
| W | |
| WAPCOS | Water and Power Development Consultancy Services (India) Ltd |
| WASME | World Assembly of Small and Medium Enterprises |
| WEF | World Economic Forum |
| WFC | World Food Council |
| WFP | World Food Programme |
| WFTU | World Federation of Trade Unions |
| WG | Work Group |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
| WPI | Wholesale Price Index |
| WRO | Weakly Interacting Massive Particle; Windows, Icons, Meus, Pointers |
| WSIS | World Summit on Information Society |
| WTO | World Trade Organization |
| WWF | World Wildlife Fund, now renamed Worldwide Fund for Nature |
| WWW | World Wide Web |
| X | |
| Xmas | Christmas |
| Y | |
| YMCA | Young Men’s Christian Association |
| YMIA | Young Men’s Indian Association |
| YWCA | Young Women’s Christian Association |
| Z | |
| ZIP | Zone Improvement Plan |
| ZOPFAN | Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality |