Indians love acronyms. Here are some of the more common Indian acronyms and what they mean:
- BCCI – Board of Control for Cricket in India
- BCom – Bachelors of Commerce (typically someone who will go on to be a CA, or a related finance career
- BJP – Bharatiya Janata Party
- CA – Chartered Accountant
- CM – Chief Minister (the ruler of a state)
- DD – Demand Draft, like a cashier’s check or a money order
- DSP – Deputy Superintendent of Police
- EOD – End of day
- FDI – Foreign Direct Investment
- FIR – First Information Report, the first thing you must fill out when reporting a crime
- FRRO – Foreigner’s Regional Registration Office
- HNI – High Net-worth Individual
- IAS – Indian Administrative Service
- IIT – Indian Institute of Technology (several throughout the country, some of the best technical institutes in the world)
- IMPCOPS – Indian Medical Practitioners Co-operative Pharmacy and Stores
- IPL – Indian Premier League
- IRCTC – Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation
- ISD – International Subscriber Dialing, or an international call
- MEA – Ministry of External Affairs
- MHA – Ministry of Home Affairs
- MNC – Multinational Company
- MP – Member of Parliament
- NDA – National Democratic Alliance (BJP-run political alliance)
- NGO – Non-government organization
- NOC – No Objection Certificate
- NRI – Non-Resident Indian
- OCI – Overseas Citizen of India
- ODI – One Day International (cricket term)
- PAN – Permanent Account Number
- Pax – The number of people
- PIO – Person of Indian Origin
- PM – Prime Minister
- PNR – Passenger Name Record (used for Indian railways and airline tickets)
- RAC – Reserved against cancellation (used for Indian railways)
- RBI – Reserve Bank of India
- RP – Residence Permit (used for FRRO registration)
- RTO – Regional Transport Office, where you must go for a driver’s license
- SP – Superintendent of Police
- TTE – Ticket Taker Examiner (used for Indian railways)
- UPA – United Progressive Alliance (Congress-run political alliance)