Abbreviation - Ch19 | Exam Fusion Prep

Abbreviation	Full Form
AIDS	Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome
AICTE	All India Council for Technical Education
ASLV	Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle
ASI	Archaeological Survey of India
ASSOCHAM	Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry
AWACS	Airborne Warning and Aircraft Control System

Abbreviation	Full Form
BARC	Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
BBC	British Broadcasting Corporation
BCCI	Board of Control for Cricket in India
BHIM	Bharat Interface for Money
BIFR	Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction
BIS	Bureau of Indian Standards
BSNL	Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited

Abbreviation	Full Form
CAD	Command Area Development / Computer-Aided Design / Current Account Deficit
CAG	Comptroller and Auditor-General
CBSE	Central Board of Secondary Education
CBDT	Central Board of Direct Taxes
CBS	Core Banking Solution
CDS	Chief of Defence Staff
CRISIL	Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited
CRR	Cash Reserve Ratio
CSAT	Civil Services Aptitude Test
CSO	Central Statistical Organisation (now Office)
CTBT	Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

⚠ EXAM TRAP

CAD has 3 different full forms depending on context (Command Area Development / Computer-Aided Design / Current Account Deficit) — options often test the economics one (Current Account Deficit).

Abbreviation	Full Form
DBT	Direct Benefit Transfer
DGCA	Directorate General of Civil Aviation
DNA	Deoxyribonucleic Acid
DPT	Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus
DPIIT	Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
DRDO	Defence Research and Development Organization

Abbreviation	Full Form
ECG	Electrocardiogram
ED	Enforcement Directorate
EFTA	European Free Trade Association
EPZ	Export Processing Zone
ERDA	Energy Research and Development Administration
ESCAP	Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

Abbreviation	Full Form
FBTR	Fast Breeder Test Reactor
FERA	Foreign Exchange Regulation Act
FEMA	Foreign Exchange Management Act
FICCI	Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
FSIB	Financial Services Institutions Bureau

⚠ EXAM TRAP

FERA (repealed) vs FEMA (current law replacing it) — a classic mix-up. FEMA replaced FERA in 1999.

Abbreviation	Full Form
GATE	Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
GATT	General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GPS	Global Positioning System
GSLV	Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
GSM	Global System for Mobile Communication
GRAP	Graded Response Action Plan

⚡ QUICK RECALL

GATT was the predecessor of WTO (World Trade Organization) — remember this chain for international trade questions.

Abbreviation	Full Form
HDFC	Housing Development Finance Corporation
HIV	Human Immunodeficiency Virus
HRIDAY	Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana
HUDCO	Housing and Urban Development Corporation

Abbreviation	Full Form
IAAI	International Airports Authority of India
IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency
ICAR	Indian Council of Agricultural Research
ICICI	Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited
ICMR	Indian Council of Medical Research
IDBI	Industrial Development Bank of India
IFCI	Industrial Finance Corporation of India
ILO	International Labour Organization
IMF	International Monetary Fund / Indian Mountaineering Foundation
INTERPOL	International Criminal Police Organization
IRNSS	Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
IUCN	International Union for Conservation of Nature

⚠ EXAM TRAP

IMF is usually International Monetary Fund, but it can also stand for Indian Mountaineering Foundation — context in the question matters.

Abbreviation	Full Form
JAM	Jan Dhan Aadhaar Mobile
JAXA	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Abbreviation	Full Form
KCC	Kisan Call Centre or Kisan Credit Card
KVK	Krishi Vigyan Kendra

Abbreviation	Full Form
LASER	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LED	Light Emitting Diode
LIC	Life Insurance Corporation of India
LIGO	Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
LOC	Line of Control
LPG	Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LTTE	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
LUPEX	Lunar Polar Exploration Mission

Abbreviation	Full Form
MASER	Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
MBBS	Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MLC	Member of Legislative Council
MNP	Mobile Number Portability
MSP	Minimum Support Price
MUDRA	Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Limited
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding

⚠ EXAM TRAP

LASER and MASER differ only by one word — Light vs Microwave amplification. A common swap trick in options.

Abbreviation	Full Form
NABARD	National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)
NBT	National Book Trust
NCERT	National Council of Educational Research and Training
NEERI	National Environmental Engineering Research Institute
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
NHRC	National Human Rights Commission
NOIDA	New Okhla Industrial Development Authority
NITI	National Institution for Transforming India
NRC	National Register of Citizens
NSSO	National Sample Survey Office
NTPC	National Thermal Power Corporation
NTCA	National Tiger Conservation Authority

Abbreviation	Full Form
OECD	Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OMR	Optical Mark Recognition or Optical Mark Reader
ONGC	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
OPEC	Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
OROP	One Rank One Pension

Abbreviation	Full Form
PAN	Permanent Account Number
PCS	Provincial Civil Service
PL480	Public Law 480
PLA	People's Liberation Army (Manipur)
PMKVY	Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
POTO	Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance
PSLV	Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
PUMA	Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility
PURA	Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas
PWD	Public Works Department

⚡ QUICK RECALL

PSLV vs GSLV vs ASLV — all ISRO launch vehicles but for different orbit types; PSLV (Polar), GSLV (Geosynchronous), ASLV (Augmented, early experimental).

Abbreviation	Full Form
QMG	Quarter Master General
QMS	Quick Mail Service

Abbreviation	Full Form
R&D	Research and Development
RADAR	Radio Detection and Ranging
RAM	Random Access Memory
RAW	Research and Analysis Wing
RDX	Research Department Explosive or Royal Demolition Explosive
RTI	Right to Information
RTE	Right to Education

Abbreviation	Full Form
SAARC	South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation
SAMBHAV	Secure Army Mobile Bharat Version
SCOPE	Standing Conference of Public Enterprises
SEBI	Securities and Exchange Board of India
SIDBI	Small Industries Development Bank of India
SIM	Subscriber Identification Module
SLV	Satellite Launch Vehicle
SMS	Short Messaging Service
STD	Subscribers Trunk Dialing
STEP	Satellite Telecommunication Experiment Project
SWIFT	Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

⚠ EXAM TRAP

RDX has two accepted full forms — Research Department Explosive and Royal Demolition Explosive — both appear in different sources.

Abbreviation	Full Form
TADA	Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act
TISCO	Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited
TRAI	Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
TRIPS	Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
TRYSEM	Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment

Abbreviation	Full Form
UIDAI	Unique Identification Authority of India
UNCTAD	United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNO	United Nations Organization
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF	United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund
UPI	Unified Payments Interface

Abbreviation	Full Form
VAT	Value Added Tax
VRS	Voluntary Retirement Scheme
VSSC	Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre

Abbreviation	Full Form
WEF	World Economic Forum
WWF	World Wide Fund for Nature
WTO	World Trade Organization
WWW	World-Wide Web

Y & Z

Abbreviation	Full Form
YMCA	Young Men's Christian Association
YWCA	Young Women's Christian Association
ZETA	Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly
ZS	Zoological Society
ZUPO	Zimbabwe United Peoples Organization

⚡ QUICK RECALL

UNO's full form is United Nations Organization — commonly written wrong as "United Nation Organizations" in weak sources; always use the correct singular "Nations."