What was going on when I was born?

About this time last year, the coin-operated video games that Genovese Drug Stores had installed in some of its outlets seemed a welcome way to perk up cash flow. As shoppers dropped their quarters into the machines to do battle with electronic attackers, store managers saw the units as a novel source of revenue that required the outlay of only a small amount of space in return. But now, said Donald Gross, vice president of marketing for the chain, which has its headquarters in Melville, L.I., that early optimism has faded. ''We'll probably be phasing them back,'' he said.

New York State's new system of collecting gasoline sales taxes has resulted in widespread evasion and the loss of revenue for the state, New York City and the suburban counties, according to officials of the state and the fuel industry. Representatives of nine major gasoline companies and suppliers in the metropolitan area have warned state officials that the cheating, if unchecked, could cost the state, city and nearby suburban counties as much as $100 million this year. Fabian Palomino, special counsel to Governor Cuomo, said Mr. Cuomo had ordered an inquiry to determine if the system should be revised. ''These charges seem to be credible,'' said Mr. Palomino, who has met recently with executives of the fuel companies. ''We are not sure of the extent of the tax losses, but even if it is not $100 million, $60 million or $70 million is a hell of a lot of money we should not be losing.''

OPEC oil ministers agreed today to reduce the total projected amount of oil that the group's 13 members would produce this year. One minister said that Saudi Arabia would bear the brunt of the reduction. But a serious dispute remained over how to adjust oil prices to reflect differences in quality. The ministers emerged this evening from a closed four-hour meeting with widely varying assessments of the progress made toward bridging deep differences within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries about how to avert a price war.

Here in El Salvador, the Government is holding more than 700 people in prison under suspicion of subversive activity. There are, for the most part, no formal charges, no trials, no definite sentences. Some of those who make it to prison are considered the lucky ones, however. Other less fortunate suspects are abducted from their homes and never seen again, or are later found dead and sometimes mutilated on the dusty roadsides or in the scrubby fields of the countryside. To varying degrees, this kind of situation has become commonplace in many parts of Central America. Although the number of people dying at the hands of their governments has decreased over the last several months, the state of human rights in many parts of the region remains grim.

The Eurobond market staggered last week after beginning 1983 with a record-shattering wave of new issues that had left observers and participants agreeing that some of the banks and other institutions that manage such issues might have let their competitive instincts get out of hand. ''Many of the issues are now trading at significant discounts and there's a monumental amount of unsold paper around,'' said David Watkins, head of new issues at Goldman, Sachs & Company. A wide variety of borrowers, including Sweden, the World Bank and major American companies such as Coca-Cola, Texaco and Time Inc., floated bonds and notes worth a total of $5.1 billion through Jan. 14 as bond management houses vied with one another for the chance to bring them to market. The flow of new issues abated last week, although there were still 11 dollar-denominated ones totaling $1.25 billion and several more in other currencies.

Notes on China: Mao's widow works in a doll factory A2 Portuguese President to call elec- tions soon A3 China denies it has claims to territory held by Soviet A3 Israeli officials says U.S. plan on Lebanon is unacceptable A4 Internal Polish report blames past leaders for labor troubles A6 Around the World A7 Government/Politics Hard times force end to Louisi- ana's profligacy A15 Three studies criticize city plans for a garbage-burning plant B2 Washington Talk Q.&A.: Vice President Bush on his upcoming European trip A10 Government office provides a guide to Government offices A10 The Calendar A10 Briefing A10 General Around the Nation A8 Sideline puts businessman in spotlight in dioxin case A8 Farmers from seven states draw plan to ease plight A8 Catholic bishops ready to finish statement on atom arms A13 Vermont's Governor presses for state job-creating plan A13 Feminist leader's arrest stirs turmoil on Coast A16 East Coast cheerleaders met in competition in New Jersey B1 Cuomo asks counsel to study 2 in- surance rulings B2 Four people died in the crash of a plane near Atlantic City B3 Man stabs four people in mosque in Brooklyn B3 SportsMonday Basketball: Nets beat Sonics by 105-102 C11 Robinson begins to contribute to Knicks C11 Record Syracuse crowd fails to rattle St. John's C7 Columns: Dave Anderson on the missing tarpaulin C1 George Vecsey on Borg, the ab- sent Master C6 Features: Free-agent contracts contain complex numbers C4 Sports World Specials C2 Football: Dolphins beat Jets, 14-0, earn Super Bowl berth C1 It was a tough day for Todd and Jets' offense C8 Dolphins' A.J. Duhe a hit at his new position C9 Small group of loyalists meet Jets on arrival home C10 Redskins molded by a master scout C11 Golf: Fergus beats Caldwell in Desert Classic playoff C2 Hockey: Rangers lose, 3-1, to Flyers C4 Capitals beat Devils, 3-1 C4 Islanders' spirit high despite loss to Flyers C4 Tennis: Lendl beats McEnroe in 3 sets, retains Masters title C1 Borg now says he won't play in Grand Prix this year C6 Track: Coghlan hopes to resume mastery of indoor mile C3 Arts/Entertainment Estelle Woodward turning a feisty 100 C13 Schubert cycle by bassist Maartii Talvela is reviewed C14 "Dick Deterred," Watergate musical spoof, staged C14 Western Wind teams up with Manteo Marionettes C15 Public television's "Ring" cycle begins tonight C17 Film critical of Israel chosen as Oscar nominee C17 Les Brown and band come east for Torme concert C20 "In Suspect Terrain" by John McPhee reviewed C20 B5 Health/Science U.S. procedures in tracking satel- lite are kept top secret A12 New microscope devised to record structure of solids A12 Education/Welfare More than 60,000 city pupils fac- ing loss of free bus service B2 Style Relationships A14 A new look at anxiety's many faces A14 A gift shop for gardeners A14 Obituaries George R. Brown, a key benefac- tor of President Johnson B5 Features/Notes Reporter's Notebook: The Three Mile Island trial A9 Press Notes: How journalists cover incidents of terrorism B2 New York Day by Day B3 Going Out Guide C15 News Analysis John Vinocur on Mitterrand's speech to the Germans A1 James M. Markham on arms de- bate and German elections A1 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials A18 Decertify Salvador hypocrisy Wrench for family planning Dear Centurion Letters A18 Anthony Lewis: Vision and re- ality in Southern Africa A19 William Safire: Reading Howard Baker's mind A19 Henry S. Reuss: Domestic changes, then aid for I.M.F. A19 Ernest F. Hollings: Israel, de- spite Begin A19 Paul Kreisberg: Put Taiwan on hold A19

Blasting open hearth furnaces and brawny men, helmets under their arms, filing through gates of chain link fences have long been the symbols of United States industrial might. But today, many of the furnaces are silent, stilled by the shrinkage of the American steel industry. Late last month, for example, the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, the nation's second-largest steelmaker, announced that it was closing its basic steelmaking operations in Lackawanna, N.Y. The toll: 7,300 employees out of work; $6.1 million in revenue losses to the city. Two weeks later, Armco Inc., the fifth-largest steel producer, said it would discontinue some operations in Ohio, Missouri and Texas, resulting in a permanent loss of 2,200 jobs. Further shutdowns are imminent.

Economic indicators for 1982, published today in major Soviet newspapers, confirmed a continuing slowdown in most key industrial and agricultural sectors of the Soviet Union. The figures, issued by the central statistics board, showed that industrial output grew only 2.8 percent last year and that national income - somewhat akin to the gross national product of other countries - rose only 2.6 percent. Both were the smallest gains since World War II and were well below Moscow's modest targets of 4.7 percent and 3 percent, respectively. The figures came as little surprise to Western analysts who have been following the sluggish pace of the Soviet economy in monthly tabulations. They heard comparable estimates last November from Nikolai K. Baibakov, the state planning chief. Nor were the figures any worse than the performance of many Western nations, shackled by recession.

Burned out, frozen out or evicted from their homes, more than 1,500 families - 20 percent more than a year ago - are being housed by the city in hotels or apartment buildings. No families have been turned away yet, city officials said yesterday, but it has become more difficult, as the numbers increase, to find shelter for them at prices the city can afford. The number of families applying for emergency housing has risen, but the main reason for the increase, the officials said, is that families are staying longer than usual in their emergency quarters. Scarcity of Affordable Rents The families, who are on public assistance, are having trouble finding decent, affordable rents in the city, according to Robert Jorgen, executive director of crisis intervention services for the city's Human Resources Administration.

The toss was high, slightly to the right and in front, as Ivan Lendl cocked the cannon at 1-2, 30-40 in the third set. Then the ball exploded off his graphite racquet with a boom, another of the highpowered first serves that helped to dominate and demoralize John McEnroe, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, yesterday in the final of the $400,000 Volvo Masters tennis tournament. In winning the tournament for the second straight time, Lendl collected $100,000, raising his earnings for the 1982 season to $2,028,850, a men's record. By the ease with which he disposed of Jimmy Connors and McEnroe on successive days, and with Bjorn Borg's announced departure from the game, Lendl has positioned himself for a strong claim to the top spot in 1983.

President Francois Mitterrand's address to the West German Parliament, warning about the dangers of splitting the United States from the defense of Europe, has opened up a new area of the missile debate that American speechmakers have carefully avoided. In a direct, forceful presentation Thursday, Mr. Mitterrand said in substance that the debate on deploying American medium-range missiles in Europe was less one of numbers than of political will, with the essential test for the Atlantic alliance being its ability to stop an attempt to ''decouple'' the United States and Western Europe. Criticism by Mitterrand Although he never used the word neutralism, Mr. Mitterrand attacked ''all those who would bet on a decoupling'' and said they were the people who risked creating an imbalance of forces that would threaten peace. The speech served as a warning about the consequences of the rise of neutralism in West Germany, and as an attack on those Bonn politicians who do not fully support Mr. Mitterrand's thesis that Europe ''must not be deprived of a means to answer the nuclear weapons specifically directed against her.''

International The Soviet satellite plunged through Earth's atmosphere. If any debris from the nuclear-powered Cosmos 1402 survived, it apparently fell harmlessly into a remote section of the Indian Ocean. The North American Aerospace Defense Command estimated that the crippled satellite entered the dense atmosphere at 5:21 P.M. Eastern standard time in an area far south of the Indian subcontinent and far west of Australia. (Page A1, Column 6.) A reduction in the OPEC oil output projected for this year was agreed on by the organization's 13 oil ministers at a meeting in Geneva. One minister said that Saudi Arabia would bear the brunt of the reduction. A serious dispute over how to adjust oil price to reflect differences in quality remained unresolved. (A1:3.)