ADB Asian Development Bank

AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

APP Agricultural Prospective Plan

BBS Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

BLSS Bhutan Living Standard Survey

BPL Below Poverty Line

CBS Central Bureau of Statistics

CBN Cost of Basic Needs

CDS Current Daily Status

CENWOR Centre for Women’s Research

CMI Census of Manufacturing Industries

CMR Child Mortality Rate

DCI Direct Calorie Intake

EAP East Asia and the Pacific

EECA Eastern Europe and Central Asia

EGW Electricity, Gas and Water

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

GDI Gender related Development Index

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GCC Gulf Cooperation Council

GOI Government of India

GNI Gross National Income

GVA Gross Value Added

HDI Human Development Index

HCR Head Count Ratio

HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus

HES Household Expenditure Survey

HIES Household Income and Expenditure Surveys

HPI-1 Human Poverty Index – 1 (for Developing Countries)

ICDS Integrated Child Development Services

ILO International Labour Organization

IMR Infant Mortality Rate

INFRA Index of Infrastructure

IOM International Organization for Migration

ISACPA Independent South Asia Commission on Poverty Alleviation

IT Information Technology

KPP Khushaal Pakistan Programme

LAC Latin America and the Caribbean

LSG Local Self-Government

MDGs Millennium Development Goals

MMR Maternal Mortality Ratio

MENA Middle East and North Africa

NCBs Nationalized Commercial Banks

NER Net Enrolment Ratio

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

NLSS Nepal Living Standard Survey

NPA National Plan of Action

NREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

NRIs Non-Resident Indians

NSAP National Social Assistance Programme

NSAPR National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction

NTEVTA National Technical and Vocational Training Authority

NWFP North-West Frontier Province

ODA Official Development Assistance

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PAA Poverty Assessment and Analysis

PGI Poverty Gap Index

PHDS Public Health Distribution System

PMS Poverty Monitoring Survey

PSLMS Pakistan Living Standards Measurement Survey

PPAF Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund

PPP Purchasing Power Parity

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

RPP Regional Poverty Profile

SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Agreement

SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

SAEU South Asia Economic Union

SC Scheduled Caste

SDGs SAARC Development Goals

SGRY Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana

SLBFE Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment

SMEs Small and Medium Enterprises

SMIs Small and Medium Industries

SOEs State Owned Enterprises

SPGI Squared Poverty Gap Index

SSA Sub-Saharan Africa

SSI Small Scale Industry

ST Scheduled Tribe

TB Tuberculosis

TFR Total Fertility Rate

U5MR Under-5 Mortality Rate

UAE United Arab Emirates

UK United Kingdom

UN United Nations

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

USA United States of America

UPSS Usual Principal and Subsidiary Status

WHO World Health Organization

WTO World Trade Organisation

ZTB Zarai Tarqiati Bank

there are so many . . . .