Glossary

APEC Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It is a grouping of 21

countries for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade and
investment in the Asia-Pacific region.

It proclaims itself to be the only inter governmental grouping in the

world operating on the basis of non-binding commitments, open
dialogue and equal respect for the views of all participants. Unlike the
WTO or other multilateral trade bodies, APEC has no treaty
obligations required of its participants. Decisions made within APEC
are reached by consensus and commitments are undertaken on a
voluntary basis. Read more about it here.
AMFI Association of Mutual Funds in India. It is the apex body of all the
registered Asset Management Companies and was incorporated in 1995
as a non-profit organisation. Know more about it here.
ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations. It was established on 8
August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries,
namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July
1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30
April 1999.

It is basically meant for economic cooperation among them. But the

activities are of late becoming more comprehensive including in their
ambit security, cultural development and social progress.
APM Administered Pricing Mechanism. A mechanism to subsidise
petroleum and related products in India.
ARCs Asset Reconstruction Companies. These buy the NPAs of banks for a
deep discount and recover the loans to make a profit.
ASI The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of
Culture, is the premier organization for the archaeological researches
and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. Maintenance of
ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national
importance is the prime concern of the ASI. Besides it regulate all
archaeological activities in the country as per the provisions of the
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
It also regulates Antiquities and Art Treasure Act, 1972.
ATF Aviation Turbine Fuel
Balloon A balloon payment is a large, lump sum payment made either at
payments specific intervals, or more commonly, at the end of a long-term balloon
loan. Balloon payments are most commonly found in mortgages, but
may be attached to auto and personal loans as well.
 In exchange for this large final payment, the person taking out the loan
reaps of a number of benefits. Usually, the initial amount of cash which
must be put down is less than it would be under a standard loan
agreement. More importantly, however, is the lower interest rate
throughout the life of the loan, and smaller monthly payments.

Balloon loans are ideal for people with good investment sense, and the
ability to wisely manage and ration their spending. By freeing up
capital that can be dedicated to paying down higher interest rates and
making larger payments, balloon loans give a savvy investor the
opportunity to use that capital to save money.

These loans make a lot of sense for individuals expecting a financial

windfall at some point in the future. This might be due to a large tax
refund, an inheritance, or an expected dividend. Whatever the source, if
current cash-flow is not indicative of future capital holdings, a balloon
payment may be an intelligent choice.
Bank rate Bank rate, also referred to as the discount rate, is the rate of interest
which a central bank charges on the loans and advances that it extends
to commercial banks and other financial intermediaries.
Base effect It refers to the phenomenon of recording huge jumps in growth rates
because of low growth recorded in the previous years.

For example, industrial output grew by only 7.1% in July 2007.

Industrial output grew 4.7% in July 2005 and 13.2% in July 2006.

The slower growth in 2007 is due to the base effect caused by the
robust growth of 13.2% recorded in July 2006.
Basel Norms Basel norms are about bolstering banks’ capital in accordance with the
supervisory standards and guidelines formulated by the Basel
Committee.
Basis Points Interest rates are usually measured by financial world in terms of basis
points. 100 basis points equals 1%. When you hear about 10 basis
points, it is referring to 0.1%.
BCCI Board of Cricket Control India
BCG Boston Consulting Group. It is an international strategy and general
management consulting firm.
Bernanke Refers to Ben Bernanke. The US Federal Reserve Chairman.
BIS Bureau of Indian Standards. The standards setting body of India.
Blue tongue A viral disease that affects ruminants. Details.
disease
BPO Business Process Outsourcing. BPO is the outsourcing of back office
and front office functions typically performed by white collar and
clerical workers. Examples include accounting, human resources and
medical coding and transcription.
Brent It is crude oil produced in the North Sea in Atlantic. See more here.
CA Chartered Accountant
CAG Comptroller and Auditor General of India. See his duties and
responsibilities here.
Catacomb Any network of caves, grottos, or subterranean place that is used for
the burial of the dead, or it can refer to a specific underground burial
place.
CBI Central Bureau of Investigation. It is the premier central investigating
agency of the country.
CBSE Central Board of Secondary Education. Know more about it here.
CDM Clean Development Mechanism. The Kyoto Protocol establishes the
CDM to enable industrialised countries to finance emissions-avoiding
projects in developing countries and receive credit for doing so.
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access: A technology for digital transmission
of radio signals between, for example, a mobile telephone and a radio
base station. In CDMA, a frequency is divided into a number of codes.
CECA Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement.
CERC Central Electricity Regulatory Commission
CERSEM Centre for Excellence for Radio Spectrum Engineering and
Management
Chicxulub Chicxulub Crater is an ancient impact crater buried underneath the
Yucatán Peninsula, with its center located near the town of Chicxulub,
Yucatan, Mexico. The crater is over 180 kilometers (112 mi) in
diameter, and the asteroid or comet whose impact formed the crater
was at least 10 km (6 mi) in diameter. The crater was named for the
eponymous town, as well as for the literal Maya translation of the
name: "tail of the devil."
CIBIL Credit Information Bureau of India Limited. It tracks credit worthiness
of borrowers across the financial markets in India and shares this
information with its members. Look for more details here.
CII Confederation of Indian Industry. Know more about it here.
Consumer They consist of consumer electronics and white goods
durables
Correlation The degree to which economic variables are observed to move
together. If they move in the same direction there is positive
correlation; if they move in opposite directions there is negative
correlation.
Credit Rating A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of an individual,
corporation, or even a country. Credit ratings are calculated from
financial history and current assets and liabilities. Typically, a credit
rating tells a lender or investor the probability of the subject being able
to pay back a loan. However, in recent years, credit ratings have also
been used to adjust insurance premiums, determine employment
eligibility, and establish the amount of a utility or leasing deposit.
 A poor credit rating indicates a high risk of defaulting on a loan, and
thus leads to high interest rates, or the refusal of a loan by the creditor.
CRR Cash Reserve Ratio. It is the ratio of interest-free cash reserves
mandatorily kept by the banks with the RBI. At present it is 7.5%.
Read more about this and related ratio SLR here.
Crude basket It refers to the composition of all the sources from where the country
procures crude oil. Look at its composition in 2007 here.
CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
CST Central Sales Tax.
DAR method It is a method of estimating radio listernership. See also Diary Method.
Look for details here.
Dargah A dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious
figure, often a Sufi saint.
DCI Dredging Corporation of India. DCI helps to ensure the continuous
availability of the desired depths in shipping channels of the Major and
Minor Ports, Navy, fishing harbours and other maritime oraganisations.
DGH Directorate General of Hydrocarbons.
DGCA Director General of Civil Aviation.
DGFT Director General of Foreign Trade. Know more about it here.
Diary Method A method of estimating radio listenership. See this for details. See also
DAR Method.
Dividend The practice of knocking away the dividends with a view to booking
stripping short term capital losses. More details here.
DMIC Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor. It is a $90 bn Dedicated Freight
Corridor between Delhi and Mumbai, covering an overall length of
1483km and passing thru the States of U.P, NCR of Delhi, Haryana,
Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, with end terminals at Dadri in the
National Capital Region of Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Port near
Mumbai. This Dedicated Frieght Corridor offers high-speed
connectivity for High Axle Load Wagons (25 Tonne) of Double
Stacked Container Trains supported by high power locomotives. The
Delhi-Mumbai leg of the Golden Quadilateral National Highway also
runs almost parallel to the Freight Corridor. For more details see this.
For knowing about how the project is being structured see our notes on
23.09.2007.
Domino effect The domino effect is the idea that some change, small in itself, will
cause a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar
change, and so on in linear sequence, by analogy to a falling row of
dominoes standing on end.
DoT Department of Telecommunications.
ECBs External Commercial Borrowings. Borrowings made from outside the
country.
EDGE Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution: is a digital mobile phone
technology which acts as a bolt-on enhancement to 2G and 2.5G
 (a.k.a.GPRS) networks. This technology is working in TDMA and
GSM networks. EDGE (also known as EGPRS) is a superset to GPRS
and can function on any network with GPRS deployed on it (provided
the carrier implements the necessary upgrades).
EEFC Exchange Earners Foreign Currency Account. A type of bank account
Accounts which is opened for foreign exchange earners. Know more about them
directly from RBI site here.
EGoM Empowered Group of Ministers. A mechanism that has become
characteristic of the present UPA government in India. When the
government is faced with some tricky issues, it is referring matters to
such specially constituted EGoMs to sort out the issues. As these
EGoMs are usually consisting of ministers from various political
parties, this is also effectively ensuring that the policy outcome is most
widely palatable for all the constituents of the UPA government.
EMIs Equated Monthly Installments. A housing loan is normally repayed by
a monthly instalment. Usually the monthly instalment is an EMI, an
equal amount that, if paid every month over the tenure of the loan,
results in fully paying off the loan taken.

Part of the monthly instalment is interest (calculated at the loan interest

rate on the principal outstanding for that month) and the remaining part
is accounted for as principal repaid. Principal repaid in the previous
month is reduced from outstanding principal amount every month.
Interest is calculated in the above fashion on reducing principal. At the
end of the loan tenure, the principal reduces to zero.
ETF Exchange Traded Fund. A basket of stocks that is bought and sold on a
stock exchange as if it were a single stock.
FCCB Foreign Currency Convertible Bond
FDI Foreign Direct Investment. FDI is defined as "investment made to
acquire lasting interest in enterprises operating outside of the economy
of the investor." The FDI relationship, consists of a parent enterprise
and a foreign affiliate which together form a transnational corporation
(TNC). In order to qualify as FDI the investment must afford the parent
enterprise control over its foreign affiliate. The UN defines control in
this case as owning 10% or more of the ordinary shares or voting
power of an incorporated firm or its equivalent for an unincorporated
firm; lower ownership shares are known as portfolio investment.
FEMA Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The legal framework for
administration of foreign exchange transactions in India is provided by
the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. Under the Act, freedom
has been granted for buying and selling of foreign exchange for
undertaking current account transactions.

Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) [in lieu
of FERA], which has come into force with effect from June 1, 2000, all
transactions involving foreign exchange have been classified either as
 Capital or Current Account transactions. All transactions undertaken by
a resident that do not alter his assets or liabilities outside India are
current account transactions. In terms of Section 5 of the FEMA,
persons are free to buy or sell foreign exchange for any current account
transaction except for those transactions on which Central Government
has imposed restrictions.
FII Foreign Institutional Investors. These typically include pension funds,
insurance companies, mutual funds, foundations and endowments.
They register with SEBI for making portfolio investments in India.
Federal The US Central Bank. Look here for a more detailed explanation about
Reserve its constitution and different rates it monitors.
FIFA Fédération Internationale de Football Association. It is the world body
which promotes football. It is an association governed by Swiss law
founded in 1904 and based in Zurich. It has 208 member associations
and its goal, enshrined in its Statutes, is the constant improvement of
football by protecting standards, encouraging competition and
promoting solidarity in the world game. Its mission is to to reach out
and touch the world, using football as a symbol of hope and
integration. Read more about it here.
Financial Financial deepening is a term used often by economic development
deepening experts. It refers to the increased provision of financial services with a
wider choice of services geared to all levels of society. It also refers to
the macro effects of financial deepening on the larger economy.
FMCG Fast Moving Consumer Goods. FMCG is a classification that refers to
wide range of frequently purchased consumer products including:
toiletries, soaps, cosmetics, teeth cleaning products, shaving products,
detergents, other non-durables such as glassware, bulbs, batteries, and
plastic goods such as buckets. Fast Moving is in opposition to
consumer durables such as kitchen appliances that are generally
replaced less than once a year.
Futures A contract specifying a future date of delivery or receipt of a certain
amount of a specific tangible or intangible product. The commodities
traded in futures markets include stock index futures; agricultural
products like wheat, soybeans and pork bellies; metals; and financial
instruments. Futures are used by business as a hedge against
unfavorable price changes and by speculators who hope to profit from
such changes.
FTA Free Trade Agreement. An agreement between two countries or groups
of countries providing for freer trade on goods and services between
them.
GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Principles are the rules or guidelines
set to keep record keeping consistent, conservative and reliable. There
are several principles and assumptions that must be considered while
maintaining a set of accounting records. It is important to not assume
anything and always confirm the bookkeeping practices you are using
 with an accounting professional. An example of a principle is
consistency. This includes maintaining the same valuation method for
calculating inventory and depreciation. Once a method has been
chosen, it must stay consistent. There are always exceptions, and the
method can change with disclosure, as long as it's not changed
continually to suit your needs.

For each country, these standards and principles vary. That is why you
hear about US GAAP, UK GAAP etc. Bu there is an international body
that develops and sets international standards in accounting. Look at
IASB.
GCMMF Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation. The owners of brand
Amul.
GDP Gross Domestic Product. GDP is the total value of goods and services
produced by a nation.

Real GDP: GDP adjusted for inflation. Real GDP provides the value of
GDP in constant dollars, which is used as an indicator of the volume of
the nation's output.

Nominal GDP: The value of goods and services produced in a year

when output is valued at current year prices.
GHG Green House Gases. The main ones are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane
(CH4), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxides (N2O). CO2
accounts for 70 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
Globalisation Globalization (or globalisation) is a term used to describe the changes
in societies and the world economy that are the result of dramatically
increased trade and cultural exchange. In specifically economic
contexts, it is often understood to refer almost exclusively to the effects
of trade, particularly trade liberalization or free trade.
GoI Government of India
GoM Group of Ministers. The Central Government from time to time
constitutes various GoMs to look into issues of importance on matters
of policy.
Grand Slam In tennis, a Grand Slam is winning all four of the following
championship titles in the same year: Australian Open, French Open,
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Great The Great Depression (also known in the U.K. as the Great Slump)
Depression was a dramatic, worldwide economic downturn beginning in some
countries as early as 1928. The beginning of the Great Depression in
the United States is associated with the stock market crash on October
29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. The depression had devastating
effects in both the industrialized countries and those which exported
raw materials. International trade declined sharply, as did personal
incomes, tax revenues, prices and profits. Cities all around the world
were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry.
 Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural
areas suffered as crop prices fell by 40 to 60 percent. Mining and
logging areas had perhaps the most striking blow because the demand
fell sharply and there were few employment alternatives.
Greenspan Refers to Alan Greenspan. The former US Federal Reserve Chairman.
A highly rated economist.
Green building See 22.09.2007 notes.
GST Goods and Services Tax. A consumption (as opposed to income) tax
levied on the purchases of goods and services by consumers
Hallmarking It is a measure of ensuing quality is the jewellery being sold. Look
here.
Hedging In finance, a hedge is an investment that is taken out specifically to
reduce or cancel out the risk in another investment. The term is a
shortened form of "hedging your bets", a gambling term. Typical
hedgers purchase a security that the investor thinks will increase in
value, and combine this with a "short sell" of a related security or
securities in case the market as a whole goes down in value.
Hedge fund A hedge fund is an investment fund structured to avoid direct
regulation and taxation in major countries and which charges a
performance fee based on the increase of the value of the fund's assets.
The assets of a hedge fund will usually be managed by an investment
management firm. As a hedge fund is largely unregulated, its
investment manager is able to deploy a wider range of investment
strategies and tactics than it could for a regulated fund, and investing in
a hedge fund is therefore considered to carry more risk.
Hemline The line formed by the lower edge of a skirt or coat.
HiPods Hi performance on demand solutions. It is an IBM terminology for
coming out with business solutions.
HSN Hormonized System of Nomenclature
Hyogo It is a framework adopted by The World Conference on Disaster
Framework Reduction that was held from 18 to 22 January 2005 in Kobe, Hyogo,
Japan. It came out with the “Framework for Action 2005-2015:
Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters”. The
Conference provided a unique opportunity to promote a strategic and
systematic approach to reducing vulnerabilities and risks to hazards. It
underscored the need for, and identified ways of, building the
resilience of nations and

communities to disasters.
IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency.
IASB The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) founded on
April 1, 2001 is responsible for developing the International Financial
Reporting Standards (new name for the International Accounting
Standards issued after 2001), and promoting the use and application of
these standards. The IASB co-operates with national accounting
 standard-setters to achieve convergence in accounting standards around
the world.

The International Accounting Standards Board is an independent,

privately-funded accounting standard-setter based in London, UK.

See also GAAP in this regard.

IAMAI Internet and Mobile Association of India
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Developemnt. Aka World
Bank. It serves middle-income countries with capital investment and
advisory services.
ICAAP Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process.
ICAI Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. See this for its current
President and membership strength.
ICRIER Indian Council for Research in International Economic Relations
ICRISAT International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics. It is a
nonprofit, non-political organization that does innovative agricultural
research and capacity building for sustainable development with a wide
array of partners across the globe. ICRISAT's mission is to help
empower 600 million poor people to overcome hunger, poverty and a
degraded environment in the dry tropics through better agriculture.
ICRISAT belongs to the Alliance of Future Harvest Centers of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
IDA International Development Assistance. It is the part of the World Bank
that helps the world’s poorest countries. Established in 1960, IDA aims
to reduce poverty by providing interest-free credits and grants for
programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve
people’s living conditions.
IDR Indian Depository Receipts. Just like ADRs and GDRs, these are meant
for foreign companies looking to raise money (capital) in India.
IEA International Energy Agency. It acts as energy policy advisor to 27
member countries in their effort to ensure reliable, affordable and clean
energy for their citizens. Founded during the oil crisis of 1973-74, the
IEA’s initial role was to co-ordinate measures in times of oil supply
emergencies. As energy markets have changed, its mandate has
broadened to incorporate the “Three E’s” of balanced energy policy
making: energy security, economic development and environmental
protection. Current work focuses on climate change policies, market
reform, energy technology collaboration and outreach to the rest of the
world, especially major consumers and producers of energy like China,
India, Russia and the OPEC countries. Know more about it here.
IFRS International Financial Reporting Standards. These are standards and
interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards
Board (IASB).

Many of the standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older
 name of International Accounting Standards (IAS). IAS were issued
between 1973 and 2001 by the board of the International Accounting
Standards Committee (IASC). In April 2001 the IASB adopted all IAS
and continued their development, calling the new standards IFRS.
IIP The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is a key measure of the
industrial performance of the Indian Economy.
IMFC An important committee of IMF. Look for details of its mandate here.
IMO International Maritime Organization. See this for its current Secretary
General.
IMRB Indian Market Research Bureau
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established
jointly by WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and UNEP (UN
Environment Programme) in 1988.

The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open

and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic
information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of
human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for
adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor
does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It
bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published
scientific/technical literature. For more info see its website at:
http://www.ipcc.ch/
IPO Initial Public Offer(ing). Shares in a company have been placed on a
stock exchange. An IPO is always just the first time a company's shares
are listed - if a company has a listing on another market or in another
country, then the listing is not an IPO, merely a secondary, or
additional, listing.
IRDA Insurance Regulatory Development Authority
ISRO Indian Space Research Organization executes Space programme
through its establishments located in different places in India. Main
objective of space programme includes development of satellites,
launch vehicles, Sounding Rockets and associated ground systems.
ISRO has crossed several major milestones
ITDC India Tourism Development Corporation
IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources.

Popularly referred to as “The World Conservation Union”, it brings

together 83 States, government agencies, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and scientists and experts from 181 countries in
a unique worldwide partnership.

The Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies

throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature
 and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable.

Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.

IWC International Whaling Commission
JNNURM Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
LAG Liquids, Aerosols and Gels. This refers to a segment of the
merchandise sold in the duty free shops around the world.
Lateral Edward De Bono defines lateral thinking as methods of thinking
thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception. Lateral thinking is
about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that
may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.
LIBOR London Inter Bank Offer Rate. The rate charged by one bank to
another for lending money in the London financial market.
Logistics The management of both inbound and outbound materials, parts,
supplies, and finished goods. Includes such activities as; production
scheduling, forecasting, customer service, order entry, inventory
control, and product allocation among customers.
MAIT Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology
Marina It is place for rest and recreation for sailors. Look here for a more
detailed explanation.
Matrix From the Matrix trilogy: The Matrix is a false reality created by
intelligent machines around the year 2199 to be a perfect utopia for
controlled human beings. As the humans are "sleeping" in the Matrix,
their dreams and thoughts are synthesized by the machines for energy
use much like we use batteries to power remote controllers and
television sets. This became a necessity after humans blocked out the
Sun with a chemical barrier released by military aircraft.
MFIs Microfinance Institutions. Microfinance is a term for the practice of
providing financial services, such as microcredit, microsavings or
microinsurance to poor people. By helping them to accumulate usably
large sums of money, this expands their choices and reduces the risks
they face. As suggested by the name, most transactions involve small
amounts of money, frequently less than US$100.
Milton Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an
Friedman American Nobel Laureate economist and public intellectual. An
advocate of laissez-faire capitalism, Friedman made major
contributions to the fields of macroeconomics, microeconomics,
economic history and statistics. In 1976, he was awarded the Nobel
Prize in Economics for his achievements in the fields of consumption
analysis, monetary history and theory and for his demonstration of the
complexity of stabilization policy.
Mime It is a form of art. See this for more info.
mmBtu An energy measurement that measures a unit of heat. A unit of heat
 equals to 1,000,000 Btu (1 mmBtu); the thermal equivalent of 1,000
cubic feet of gas with a heat content of 1,000 Btu per cubic foot.
MNCs Multi National Companies.
Moore’s Law This is about the complexity of microprocessor chips. Look here.
MVNO Mobile Virtual Network Operator. See this for more info.
NABARD National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is
set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating
credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale
industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural
crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic
activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural
development and secure prosperity of rural areas.
NAFED National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.

NAFED was setup with the object to promote Co-operative marketing

of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers. Agricultural farmers are
the main members of NAFED, who have the authority to say in the
form of members of the General Body in the working of NAFED.
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the US. Learn more
about it from its site here.
NAV Net Asset Value. It is calculated by adding the value of all of the
investments in the fund and dividing by the number of shares of the
fund that are outstanding. NAV calculations are required for all mutual
funds open-ended funds and close-ended funds. The price per share of
a close-ended fund will trade at either a premium or a discount to the
NAV of that fund, based on market demand. Closed-ended funds
generally trade at a discount to NAV.
NBFCs Non banking finance companies. A Non-Banking Financial Company
(NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is
engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of
shares/stock/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or
local authority or other securities of like marketable nature, leasing,
hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include
any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity,
industrial activity, sale/purchase/construction of immovable property. A
non-banking institution which is a company and which has its principal
business of receiving deposits under any scheme or arrangement or any
other manner, or lending in any manner is also a non-banking financial
company (Residuary non-banking company). You can know more
about them from the RBI’s site here.
NBW Non bailable warrant. Once issued by a court, the person against who it
is issued has to surrender before the issuing court. He cannot be
granted bail till he surrenders before the court.
NCAER National Council of Applied Economic Research.
NCEUS National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector.
NCPCR National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
NDC National Development Council. It consists of the Planning
Commission and the Chief Ministers of the states.
Negative In finance, negative amortization, also known as NegAm, is an
Amortization amortization method in which the borrower pays back less than the full
amount of interest owed to the lender each month. The shorted amount
is then added to the total amount owed to the lender.
NHAI National Highways Authority of India.
NHRC National Human Rights Commission.
NIPFP National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.
NOC No Objection Certificate
NPA Non Performing Asset means an asset or account of borrower, which
has been classified by a bank or financial institution as sub-standard,
doubtful or loss asset, in accordance with the directions or guidelines
relating to asset classification issued by RBI. Refer this for more
detailed information.
NSE National Stock Exchange.
Nymex The New York Mercantile Exchange, is the world's largest physical
commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for
energy and precious metals.
OBCs Other Backward Classes
Odds in Look at the explanation here.
betting
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD brings together the governments of countries committed to

democracy and the market economy from around the world to:

• Support sustainable economic growth

• Boost employment

• Raise living standards

• Maintain financial stability

• Assist other countries' economic development

• Contribute to growth in world trade

OMCs Oil Marketing Companies.
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It is a grouping of
12 countries which depend highly on their oil export revenues. They
operate as a cartel at an international level.
Options An option gives the right but not the obligation to buy or sell an
underlying commodity or financial instrument by or at a certain date in
 the future. An option is a derivative.
Otpor
PCPIR PetroChemicals and Petroleum Investment Region
PIL Public Interest Litigation. Public Interest Litigation popularly known as
PIL can be broadly defined as litigation in the interest of that nebulous
entity: the public in general.

Prior to 1980s, only the aggrieved party could personally knock the
doors of justice and seek remedy for his grievance and any other
person who was not personally affected could not knock the doors of
justice as a proxy for the victim or the aggrieved party. And as a result,
there was hardly any link between the rights guaranteed by the
Constitution of Indian Union and the laws made by the legislature on
the one hand and the vast majority of illiterate citizens on the other.

However, all this gradually changed when the post emergency Supreme
Court tackled the problem of access to justice by people through
radical changes and alterations made in the requirements of locus
standi and of party aggrieved. The splendid efforts of Justice P N
Bhagwati and Justice V R Krishna Iyer were instrumental of this
juristic revolution of eighties to convert the apex court of India into a
Supreme Court for all Indians. And as a result any citizen of India or
any consumer groups or social action groups can approach the apex
court of the country seeking legal remedies in all cases where the
interests of general public or a section of public are at stake. Further,
public interest cases could be filed without investment of heavy court
fees as required in private civil litigation.
PMC Programmable Metallization Cell
Private Private banking is a term for banking, investment and other financial
Banking services provided by banks to private individuals disposing of sizable
assets. The term "private" refers to the customer service being rendered
on a more personal basis than in mass-market retail banking, usually
via dedicated bank advisers.
Private Equity These are firms that invest in equity securities of companies that have
firms not “gone public” (in other words, companies that have not listed their
stock on a public exchange). Private equities are generally illiquid and
thought of as a long-term investment. As they are not listed on an
exchange, any investor wishing to sell securities in private companies
must find a buyer in the absence of a marketplace. In addition, there
are many transfer restrictions on private securities.
Private Label Private label products or services are typically those manufactured or
provided by one company for offer under another company's brand.
Private label goods and services are available in all industries from
food to cosmetics to web hosting and are often positioned as lower cost
alternatives to regional, national or international brands. Since the
branding of private label consumer goods is often provided by the
 retailer, store brands are sometimes called private label brands.
PN Participatory Note – an instrument through which non-residents who
are ineligible to participate in the Indian stock markets invest in India –
usually through FIIs.
PN Press Note. Government of India has been announcing its FDI
liberalization policies through the use of these Press Notes. These are
statements of policy released through the Press.
PSC Production Sharing Contract. Usually one that is entered into between
the Government of India and the prospective oil exploration
companies.
Pune Pact A pact between Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Ambedkar about political
reservations for Dalits.
QIP Qualified Institutional Placement
RAM Random Access Memory. It is a type of computer data storage. It takes
the form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed
in any order — that is, at random and without the physical movement
of the storage medium or a physical reading head. RAM is a volatile
memory as the information or instructions stored in it will be lost if the
power is switched off.

The word "random" refers to the fact that any piece of data can be
returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and
whether or not it is related to the previous piece of data.
RBI Reserve Bank of India. India’s central banker.
Recession A recession is usually defined in macroeconomics as a fall of a
country's Gross National Product in three successive quarters. A
recession may involve falling prices, which can lead to a depression;
alternatively it may involve sharply rising prices (inflation), in which
case this process is known as stagflation.
Repo rate Rate at which RBI lends money to banks by taking securities as
collateral.
Reverse repo Rate at which RBI mops up money from banks by giving securities in
rate return.
RFID Radio Frequency Identification. Radio Frequency IDentification
(RFID) is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using
devices called RFID tags/transponders. An RFID tag is a small object,
such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into
a product. RFID tags contain antennas to enable them to receive and
respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver.
RRB Regional Rural Bank. The establishment of the Regional Rural Banks
(RRBs) was initiated in 1975 under the provisions of the ordinance
promulgated on 26.9.1975 and thereafter Section 3(1) of the RRB Act,
1976.

The issued capital of RRBs is shared by Central Government, sponsor

 bank and the State Government in the proportion of 50%, 35% and
15% respectively. The area of operation of a majority of the RRBs is
limited to a notified area comprising a few districts in a State. As on
31.3.2006, RRBs are operating with a network of 14494 branches
covering 525 districts out of 605 districts in the country in 26 States.

The basic idea behind promoting RRBs was to ensure easy agricultural
rural credit.
SatelliteTown A satellite town or satellite city is a concept of urban planning,
although many satellite cities and towns appeared spontaneously.
Satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a major
city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere
suburbs and subdivisions in that they have municipal governments
distinct from that of the core metropolis and employment bases
sufficient to support their residential populations. Conceptually,
satellite cities could be self-sufficient communities outside of their
larger metropolitan areas. However, functioning as part of a metropolis,
a satellite city experiences cross-commuting (that is, residents
commuting out of and employees commuting into the city).
SDS Special Deposit Scheme. Long term savings representing non-
government social security investments like provident funds,
superannuation and gratuity funds, and surplus funds of government-
owned institutions like LIC, GIC, UTI and Employees' State Insurance
Corporation, etc are retained in deposit accounts for longer durations of
more than 10 years and even upto 30 years. In order to provide better
returns on such savings, Government of India launched the Special
Deposit Scheme on July 1, 1975. The scheme is operated through
various public sector banks (PSU banks) and the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) offices. On maturity, the amount under the scheme is payable in
five equated yearly installments from the date of maturity.

The rate of interest is currently at 8%. Having seen that it is a huge

drain on government finances, the government is slowly reducing its
interest commitments. It has also stopped accepting fresh deposits and
reinvestments in the scheme from the year 2004.
SEBI Securities Exchange Board of India. It was established by the
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and is the main
regulatory body governing the stock markets.
Securitization See this.
Section 25 Section 25 Company is a special purpose not-for-profit organisation
company that enjoys the advantages and benefits of a "Charitable" organisation.
Section 25 refers to Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956.
SEZ An SEZ, or a Special Economic Zone, is like a foreign territory within
a country. An SEZ is governed by a special set of rules to facilitate
foreign direct investment for export-oriented production. SEZs are free
 trade zones and customs authorities do not supervise them.

These zones are typically marked by minimum bureaucracy, best

infrastructure, generous tax holidays, unlimited duty free imports of
raw, intermediate and final goods as well as capital goods. Basically,
governments look to SEZs to overcome difficulties in bureaucracy and
fiscal measures.

For a very good primer on SEZs look here.

Short selling Refers to the practice of selling shares without holding them.
Six thinking The de Bono Hats represent six thinking strategies, as identified by
hats Edward de Bono. He considered human cognition and thought to be of
several types, approaches, or orientations. He theorized that of these
approaches, most people used only one or two of the approaches and
that people developed thinking habits which in turn limited people to
those approaches. de Bono believed that if the various approaches
could be identified and a system of their use developed which could be
taught, then people could be more productive in meetings and in
collaborating within groups and teams by deliberately using the
approaches.

As a result of his investigations, de Bono was able to describe a

process of deliberately adopting a particular approach to a problem as
an implementation of Parallel Thinking as well as an aid to lateral
thinking. Six different approaches are described, and each is
symbolised by the act of putting on a coloured hat, either actually or
imaginatively. This he suggests can be done either by individuals
working alone or in groups.

The Red Hat represents Emotional thinking. The Yellow Hat represents
Positive thinking. The Black Hat represents Critical thinking. The
White Hat is purely the facts. The Green Hat is Creative thinking. The
Blue Hat represents the Big Picture, sort of looking at it from all the
viewpoints.
SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises. See this definition.
Sounding A sounding rocket is an instrument carrying suborbital rocket designed
Rocket to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its
flight.
Sufism Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam that encompasses a diverse
range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Divine love and the
cultivation of the elements of the Divine within the individual human
being. Practitioners of this tradition are known as "Sufis" generally,
though some senior members of the tradition reserve this term for those
who have attained the goals of the tradition.
TCF Trillion Cubic Feet. The output of natural gas is measured in these
units.
TCS Tata Consultancy Services. A leading software services provider of
India
TEU Container capacity is measured in twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU,
or sometimes teu). An equivalent unit is a measure of containerized
cargo capacity equal to one standard 20 ft (length) × 8 ft (width) × 8' 6'
ft (height)'container. In metric units this is 6.10 m (length) × 2.44 m
(width) × 2.59 m (height), or approximately 38.5 m³.
TFT TFT stands for Thin Film Transistor. Underneath the surface of the
display panel are tiny transistors in a liquid material. When the
transistors are energized they react with the liquid and produce a
transparent red, blue or green hue. Energizing a combination of
different colored transistors at varying levels of intensity produces
other colors. The screen itself does not produce any light. There is a
light assembly behind the LCD panel.
Third wave It is a concept that explains about globalization and emerging
approach economies. Look here.
TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Tropo- At VHF and higher frequencies, the atmosphere at a height of around 6
scattering miles (10 kilometres) can scatter some of the normally line-of-sight
beam of radio frequency energy back toward the ground, allowing
over-the-horizon communication between stations as far as 500 miles
(800 km) apart.

A special form of tropo scattering relies on reflecting radio waves off

the intensely ionized regions generated by meteors. While this mode is
very short-duration, often only a couple of seconds per event, it allows
remote stations to communicate to a base that may be hundreds of
miles (km) away, without the expense and power input required for a
satellite link.
UASL Universal Access and Service Licence. See more about it here.
ULCA Urban Land Ceiling Act. See this for more information about it.
UNCTAD UN Conference on Trade and Development. Established in 1964,
UNCTAD promotes the development-friendly integration of
developing countries into the world economy. UNCTAD has
progressively evolved into an authoritative knowledge-based
institution whose work aims to help shape current policy debates and
thinking on development, with a particular focus on ensuring that
domestic policies and international action are mutually supportive in
bringing about sustainable development. More about it here.
UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund. It was created by the United Nations
General Assembly on December 11, 1946 to provide emergency food
and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by
World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the UN
System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be
known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered
 in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and
developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing
countries. It has 191 member countries now.
VIX Volatility Index. It captures the market expectations of future volatility
and hence risk. Look here and here for more details.
Vulture Fund A vulture fund is a financial organization that specializes in buying
securities in distressed environments, such as high-yield bonds in or
near default, or equities that are in or near bankruptcy.
WCDMA Wide-band CDMA: a CDMA protocol originated by NTT DoCoMo
and now adopted for third-generation use by ETSI in Europe.
WCDMA supports very high-speed multimedia services such as full-
motion video, Internet access and video conferencing.
WGC World Gold Council
WHO World Health Organization. WHO is the directing and coordinating
authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible
for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health
research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-
based policy options, providing technical support to countries and
monitoring and assessing health trends.

Know more about it here.

WiFi Wireless Fidelity. Wi-Fi (or Wi-fi, WiFi, Wifi, wifi), short for "Wireless
Fidelity", is a set of product compatibility standards for wireless local
area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. New
standards beyond the 802.11 specifications, such as 802.16(WiMAX),
are currently in the works and offer many enhancements, anywhere
from longer range to greater transfer speeds.
WPC Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the DoT
WTO World Trade Organization.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international

organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its
heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of
the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is
to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers
conduct their business.