| Acronym or Abbreviation | Organization or Term |
|---|---|
| ABSU | All Bodo Students' Union |
| AGP | Asom Gana Parishad (Assam People's Assembly) |
| AIADMK | All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (All-India Anna Dravidian Progressive Federation) |
| AIDS | acquired immune deficiency syndrome |
| ASEAN | Association of Southeast Asian Nations (see Glossary) |
| ASLV | Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle |
| Arabsat | Arab Satellite Communication Organization |
| BAMCEF | All-India Backward, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Classes, and Minority Communities Employees Federation |
| BJP | Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party) |
| BKD | Bharatiya Kranti Dal |
| BLD | Bharatiya Lok Dal (Indian People Party) |
| BPAC | Bodo People's Action Committee |
| BSP | Bahujan Samaj Party (Party of Society's Majority) |
| ca. | circa |
| CCN | Cable News Network |
| CFD | Congress for Democracy |
| Congress | Indian National Congress |
| Congress (I) | Congress (Indira) |
| Congress (O) | Congress (Organisation) |
| Congreess (R) | Congress (Requisition) |
| Congress (S) | Congress (Socialist and Secular) |
| Congress (U) | Congress (Urs) |
| CPI | Communist Party of India |
| CPI (M) | Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
| CPI (M-L) | Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) |
| CSIR | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research |
| DK | Dravida Kazhagam (Dravidian Federation) |
| DMK | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (Dravidian Progressive Federation) |
| DMKP | Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party (Oppressed Workers' and Peasants' Party) |
| DNA | deoxyribonucleic acid |
| DRDO | Defence Research and Development Organisation |
| ESCAP | Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific of the UN (q.v. ) |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization (see Glossary) of the UN (q.v. ) |
| FY | fiscal year (see Glossary) |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GDP | gross domestic product (see Glossary) |
| GNP | gross national product (see Glossary) |
| GSLV | Geostationary Launch Vehicle |
| HIV | human immunodeficiency virus |
| IIT | Indian Institute of Technology |
| IMF | International Monetary Fund (see Glossary) |
| INA | Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) |
| INS | Indian Naval Ship |
| Insat | Indian National Satellite System |
| Intelsat | International Telecommunications Satellite Organization |
| IPF | Indian People's Front |
| IPKF | Indian Peace Keeping Force |
| ISRO | Indian Space Research Organisation |
| Jana Sangh | People's Union |
| Janata | Janata Party |
| Janata Dal | People's Party |
| Lok Dal | People Party |
| LTTE | Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |
| NISTADS | National Institute of Science, Technology, and Development Studies |
| OPEC | Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (see Glossary) |
| PSLV | polar satellite launch vehicle |
| PSP | Praja Socialist Party |
| r. | reigned |
| RSS | Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organisation) |
| SAARC | South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (see Glossary) |
| Samajwadi | Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party) |
| Samajwadi Janata | Socialist People's Party |
| SSP | Samyukta Socialist Party |
| Swatantra | Swatantra Party |
| Telugu Desam | Telugu National Party |
| ULFA | United Liberation Front of Assam |
| UN | United Nations |
| UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| VHP | Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) |
| VSTOL | vertical and short takeoff and landing |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
Data as of September 1995