The most important acronyms for UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railway and State PCS exams — each with the full form, one-line meaning and what it does in 2026 India.
Full forms are among the most-searched UPSC and government-exam topics — DPSP, AFSPA, NABARD, TRAI and their cousins appear in Prelims one-liners, in current affairs almost every week, and in interview questions every cycle. We've organised the 300 most important acronyms by category. Each card gives the expansion, a one-line meaning, the year established and a link to a deeper explainer where applicable.
Search by typing in the box above, browse by alphabet using the A-Z strip, or jump straight to a category below.
The acronyms behind the Indian Constitution and its institutions.
Central bodies, commissions and watchdogs.
Apex banks, financial institutions and economic policy bodies.
Armed forces structures, special powers and counter-terror agencies.
All India Services and Central Civil Services.
Independent statutory regulators across industries.
Multilateral organisations India engages with.
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Learn about Padho.club apps →DPSP stands for Directive Principles of State Policy. They are guidelines listed in Part IV (Articles 36-51) of the Indian Constitution that the central and state governments should follow while framing laws and policies. DPSP are non-justiciable — they cannot be enforced by any court — but the Constitution declares them "fundamental in the governance of the country" (Article 37). They were borrowed from the Irish Constitution of 1937. Read the full DPSP explainer →
NABARD stands for the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development. It was established on 12 July 1982 on the recommendations of the B. Sivaraman Committee. NABARD is the apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks (RRBs) and apex cooperative banks in India. Its headquarters are in Mumbai. Read the full NABARD explainer →
AFSPA stands for the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. It grants special powers to the Indian armed forces in "disturbed areas" notified by the central government, currently parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir as of 2025. Read the full AFSPA + Internal Security architecture deep-dive →
TRAI stands for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. It was established on 20 February 1997 by the TRAI Act 1997. TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for the growth of telecommunications in India, including tariff regulation and consumer protection in telecom and broadcasting services.
CVC stands for the Central Vigilance Commission. It is the apex Indian governmental body created in 1964 (on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee) to address governmental corruption. It was given statutory status by the CVC Act 2003. The CVC is independent of all executive authority and monitors all vigilance activity under the central government.
IAS stands for Indian Administrative Service, IPS for Indian Police Service, and IFS for Indian Foreign Service. All three are All India Services / Central Civil Services recruited through the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE). IAS officers handle general administration in districts, states and central ministries; IPS officers serve in police and security; IFS officers represent India abroad in embassies and consulates. Note that "IFS" also refers to the Indian Forest Service, which is recruited through a separate UPSC IFoS exam.