FYI - Your Guide to India's Acronym Blizzard

I'm loving the acronym blizzard here in India (every country has its own set).  Kind of cool to be able to understand somebody when they say "The TG for this product requires a SIP-based EMI of not more than INR500."

So here's a somewhat flippant post on acronyms in India.  Feel free to add more in the comments section :)

Business

AGM = annual general meeting
ATL = above the line (marketing)
BTL = below the line (marketing)
CII = confederation of indian industries
DD = due diligence
DGM = deputy general mgr
FICCI = federation of indian chambers of commerce and industry
FMCG = fast-moving consumer goods
MD = managing director
MNC = multi-national corporation
PAT = profit after tax
SHA = shareholders agreement
SME = small or medium-size enterprise
TG = target group
TPA = third-party administrator

Education

CBSE = central board of secondary education
IB = international baccalaureate
ICSC = indian certificate of secondary education
IIM = indian institute of management
IIT = indian institute of technology
JEE = joint entrance exam
MCAT = medical college admission test
PG = post-grad
PGDM = post-graduate diploma in management
UG = under-grad

Financial Services/Payments

BFSI = banking and financial services institution
BSE = bombay stock exchange
CA = chartered accountant
COD = cash on delivery
CR = crores
CTC = cost to company
DD - demand draft
DII = domestic institutional investor
EFT = electronic funds transfer
EMI = equal monthly installments
FCNR = foreign currency non-resident (account)
FDI = foreign direct investment
FI = financial institution
FII = foreign institutional investor
IMPS = inter-bank mobile payment service
INR = indian rupee
MF = mutual fund
MFI = microfinance institution
NBFC = non-banking financial company
NFS = national financial switch
NRE = non-resident external (account)
NRO = non-resident ordinary (account)
NSE = national stock exchange
OD = overdraft
PF = provident fund
SIP =  structured investment plan
TDS = tax deducted at source
UTI = unit trust of india

Government

FM = finance minister
IAS = indian administrative service
MLA = member of legislative assembly
MP = member of parliament
NREGA = mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act
NPCI = national payments corporation of india
PAN = personal account number
PIN = postal index number
PM = prime minister
PMO = prime minister's office
PSU = public sector unit
RBI = reserve bank of india
RTO = regional transport office
SC = supreme court
SEBI = securities and exchange board of india
SEZ = special economic zone
TRAI = telecom regulatory authority of india
UIDAI = unique id authority of india

Technology/Media/Telecom

AIR = all india radio
DD = doordarshan
BCCI = board of cricket control in india
IPL = indian premier league
CRBT = caller ring-back tones
DOT = department of telecommunications
GPRS = general packet radio service
IAMAI = internet and mobile assocation of india
LTE = long-term evolution (in telecom)
MVAS = mobile value-added services
NASSCOM = national association of software and services companies
OTT = over-the-top
PCO = public call office
SIM = subsciber identity module (card)
SRK = shah rukh khan
STD = subscribers trunk dialing
VAS = value-added service

Other

BHK = bedroom hall kitchen
BOP = bottom of the pyramid
CCD = cafe coffee day
IRCTC = indian railway catering and tourism corporation
MMT = makemytrip
NRI = non-resident indian
OPD = out-patient department
OT = overtime
OTA = online travel agency
PFA = please find attached (in email)
PP = please print
USP = unique selling proposition
VVIP = very very important person

Categories not covered here (for lack of space!)
Company names (eg ICICI, SAIL)
Movies (eg DDLJ, ZNMD)
Political parties (eg CPI, AIADMK)
Social/political segmentation (eg SCST) 
States (eg AP, MP, UP) 

Comments

[twitter.com/mitensampat]

Amazing !

[Dev Khare]

Thanks for your comments. I realized the list was too long so I broke it out into segments. @Subramanallya and @Rajeshj - I added your categories but not acronyms since that would mean at least 200-300 more acronyms! @2joshis - added all your suggestions.

[2joshis]

FII - Foreign Institutional Investor
DII - Domestic Institutional Investor
CTC - Cost To Company, as in total compensation including retiral benefits, bonus etc.
NSE - National Stock Exchange
BSE - Bombay Stock Exchange

[Subrayamallya]

Good list Dev - funny when you think about it.

Then there is the whole acronym that people down south use for names - NTR, MGR, TNS etc. I thinking it has something to do with the whole thrifty attitude people have towards life - get by with minimum.

[Rajeshj]

All Bollywood movies that are more than one word long need to be referred only by their acronym:

DDLJ - Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge
ZNMD - Zindagi na milegi dubara
TPTM - Thoda pyaar thoda magic

and so forth...