What was going on when I was born?

Mayor Koch, who said recently that the size of the Police Department would decline this fiscal year because the city could not afford to replace all the officers who retired or resigned, has decided instead to fill all vacancies, City Hall officials said yesterday. They said Mr. Koch had changed his mind on how many new officers would be hired and was planning to provide enough funds for the department to send 1,384 recruits to the Police Academy in the first week of January and 854 more next June. The first class was scheduled to begin training last week, but Mr. Koch delayed it because of the budget problems. After announcing the delay of the first class last month, the Mayor had said repeatedly that the class, when it finally entered the academy, would replace only some of the officers lost through attrition. Last week, he got an agreement from the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association not to fight a temporary decrease in the size of the force, which now has 22,770 sworn officers.

Cult's violence tests civilian rule in Nigeria A2 Angolan rebels yield 2 Soviet cap- tives A3 Israel mourns victims of explo- sion and Mrs. Begin A3 Caribbean gets bad news on aid A4 Around the World A5 Brazilians vote in first free elec- tion in 17 Years A8 Walesa, after long isolation, pon- ders his future A9 Bush's talk with Andropov was first by top U.S. official A11 Government/Politics House subcommittee starts dis- cussions on military budget A7 Supreme Court roundup A18 U.S. asks Supreme Court to re- strict Nashville busing A19 Lautenberg outlines key chal- lenges he faces as U.S. Senator B2 Governor says Connecticut faces $298 million budget gap B4 Washington Talk The making of a United States ambassador B8 Election means unemployment on Capitol Hill staffs B8 Required Reading B8 Briefing B8 General Around the Nation A16 First of four conspiracy trials opens against Edwin P. Wilson A16 Miss Holtzman to seek indict- ment in disputed rape case B3 Holiday traffic regulation gets early start in Manhattan B5 Queens woman, chained in base- ment by father, dies in fire B5 Nation's Roman Catholic bishops begin nuclear arms debate D26 Style Notes on Fashion B6 Designers forsake formality in a spring accessory spree B6 Older women and male myths B6 Science Times Threat of noise to hearing and behavior increases C1 Vigilance on gene splicing is urged C1 Fish send electric messages C1 Education: A view of rising costs C1 The immense complexity of space suits C3 Science Watch C3 Personal Computers C6 About Education C8 Arts/Entertainment Davies leads American Compos- ers Orchestra C10 Orchestra of the Eighth Day per- forms C10 Rental libraries are enjoying a comeback C11 New York Renaissance Band per- forms C11 Indrani and Sukanya present classical Indian dance C11 An afternoon of Scandinavian music-making C12 Walter Lord's "The Miracle of Dunkirk" is reviewed C13 Sine Nomine Singers present Handel's "Theodora" C14 "St. Elsewhere," NBC-TV's re- warding hospital series C14 Movie makers pursuing pay- cable TV link C14 Obituaries Gene Baro, organizer of art exhi- bitions D25 Vinoba Bhave, venerated disciple of Gandhi D25 Sports Pages Owners and union meet, but re- port no progress A21 Dave Anderson on Don Shula's empty coffee cups A21 Kim's surgeon says boxer will be taken off life support soon A21 Rangers showing no improve- ment A21 Boston College to go to Tangerine Bowl A21 Scouting: Giants and Jets offer- ing refunds A22 Plays: "Shovel pass" helped S.M.U. avoid a tie A24 Around Nation A16 Books Cll,C13 Bridge C9 Business Day D1-24 Chess C14 Crossword C9 Dance C11-12 Day by Day B3 Editorials A26 Education C1,C4,C8 Going Out Guide C9 LettersA26 Movies C14 Music C10-12,C14 Obituaries D25 Op-Ed A27 Science Times C1-9 Shipping B9 Sports Pages A21-25 Style B6 TV/Radio C14-15 U.N.Events A10 Washington TalkB8 Weather A23 News Summary and Index, Page B1 Classified Ads B9-15 Auto Exchange A25

With new figures showing revenue from a New York State transit-tax package $250 million below expectations, legislative and transit officials are negotiating to try to hold down an anticipated increase next month in the 75-cent subway and bus fare. Beyond the problems with the tax package, which was passed in June 1981, the fare could also be affected by a decline in Federal subsidies and by the cost of last spring's settlement with 35,000 transit employees. The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will meet early next month to determine the level of the fare increase. Stephen Berger, the chairman of the board's finance committee, said yesterday that he thought the new fare could be kept below $1. ''But we will have to see what the Legislature does,'' he said.

Leonid I. Brezhnev was buried today in front of the Kremlin Wall after a state funeral exceeding in scale and pomp anything seen in the Soviet Union since the death of Stalin in 1953. Before the largest gathering of foreign dignitaries ever assembled here under Communist rule, Mr. Brezhnev's coffin was borne atop a gun carriage into the heart of Red Square. After a lavish tribute from the new General Secretary of the Communist Party, Yuri V. Andropov, Politburo pallbearers carried the coffin to a spot behind the Lenin mausoleum that was symbolically the most distinguished burial place of any modern Soviet leader. Artillery Fires Salute There, to the strains of Chopin's ''Funeral March,'' the man who held the posts of head of state and party leader, the latter for 18 years, was laid to rest. As the red-satin cover of the coffin descended into the grave, field guns erupted within the Kremlin walls and tugboats on the Moscow River sounded sirens in farewell.

Mayors from around the country met in New York yesterday with leaders of business and labor, and when it was all over, they said agreement had been reached on an economic recovery program for America's cities. Mayor Coleman A. Young of Detroit, head of the United States Conference of Mayors, said the nation was facing a ''watershed economic crisis'' that went beyond political party labels. Mayor Koch, who arrived late after a morning of meetings on the city's budget problems, called for a ''substantial midcourse correction to get the country's economy moving again.'' Call for 'Bipartisan Support' Mayor William H. Hudnut 3d of Indianapolis, one of two Republicans among the 15 mayors at the meeting planned by the Conference of Mayors, called for ''bipartisan support'' for a program to rebuild the highways, roads and bridges that cities can not afford to replace on their own.

International Washington-Bonn unity on a basically conservative approach to relations with the Soviet Union were expressed by President Reagan and Chancellor Helmut Kohl. After two hours of talks at the White House, they issued a joint statement expressing their willingness to increase cooperation with the new Soviet leadership but only ''if Soviet conduct makes that possible.'' (Page A1, Column 6.) Vice President Bush met briefly with the new Soviet leader, Yuri V. Andropov. The meeting was described by the American side as ''frank, cordial and substantive'' and by the Russians as an exchange ''on the fundamental matters of Soviet-U.S. relations.'' Neither side offered details. (A10:1-2.)

The fifth mission of the space shuttle Columbia had a disappointing failure today when the astronauts' spacesuits malfunctioned, forcing cancellation of what would have been the first walk in space by Americans in almost nine years. But, with the shuttle's most important tasks already behind it and satisfied that the mission was successful, flight controllers told the astronauts to head home as scheduled. They also decided against extending the mission an extra day for another attempt at the space walk because prospects for repair of the suits seemed dim. Landing in Desert The space shuttle was scheduled to end its five-day flight Tuesday morning with a landing on a concrete runway at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave Desert. Favorable weather was forecast for the landing at 9:34 A.M., New York time.

After several years in which tuition costs rose significantly and financial aid became increasingly scarce, the economic news has recently brought some encouraging signs for college students and their parents. The rate of inflation has decreased; interest rates are declining and college endowments have increased dramatically as a result of the recent surge in the stock market. Raymond F. Bacchetti is vice provost for management and director of university budgets at Stanford University, a pioneer in the development of computerized forecasting of trends in university finances. Mr. Bacchetti was recently interviewed by Edward B. Fiske, education editor of The New York Times, on whether these new developments mean that it will be easier for American students to finance their higher education in coming years. Following are excerpts from the interview: Q. The recent rally on Wall Street has sent the value of many college endowments soaring. Harvard's has gone up by $300 million in the last three months - to a record $2 billion. Your own has increased by $100 million. Does this mean that there is more money to keep tuitions down or to provide student aid?

The Virginia Electric Power Company said yesterday that it would recommend to the board of directors on Friday that the utility cancel the North Anna Unit 3 Nuclear Power Plant because of a sharp increase in construction costs. The company will ask for a rate increase to cover the estimated $540 million write-off it will take sometime next year because of the cancellation, according to Paul Edwards, vice president of public affairs. The rate increase would recover the cost over 10 years.

The Federal Reserve System yesterday reported sharp increases in the three key measures of the nation's money supply, which pushed them all beyond their annual targets and dimmed market hopes for further interest-rate reductions. M-2, now the most closely watched measure, climbed by $13 billion during October, to $1,967.1 billion - $10.6 billion above the Fed's target for the month. The strong increase in M-2 disappointed money market participants and, as a result, interest rates climbed following the Fed's lateafternoon report. Prices on long-term bonds dropped about a point and yields on one-year Treasury bills rose by about a fifth of a percentage point.

An article yesterday on Government information available to the public incorrectly quoted a statement by Representative Ted Weiss, Democrat of Manhattan. He said, ''Recent history has proven that a government shrouded in secrecy becomes not only unaccountable but eventually irresponsible.''

President Reagan and Chancellor Helmut Kohl said today that the United States and West Germany were ready to broaden cooperation with the new Soviet leadership but only ''if Soviet conduct makes that possible.'' At the end of two hours of talks at the White House, the two leaders agreed on a basically conservative approach to the Kremlin. Aides to both men said they rejected, in their conversation, any Western concessions to Moscow, in the absence of moves by the new Soviet leadership to ease tensions. ''It is especially important at present for the West to approach the Soviet Union with a clear, steadfast and coherent attitude which combines the defense of its own interests with the readiness to pursue constructive relations, dialogue and cooperation with the leadership of the Soviet Union,'' the two leaders said in a joint statement.