March 20, 1982

Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries appeared near agreement tonight to limit production in an effort to reduce the worldwide oversupply of oil and bolster rapidly weakening prices. The OPEC oil ministers are scheduled to continue their talks Saturday. A general agreement on production levels in individual countries would be the first by the organization. Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, oil minister of Saudi Arabia, told reporters toward the end of the OPEC meeting today that ''we have reached agreement on a ceiling of 18 million'' barrels a day. That would represent a small reduction of about 200,000 barrels from the current estimated output by the 13 members.

The United States has increased the number of its military advisers in Honduras to as many as 100 since the start of the year. The State Department said the increase was meant to help enhance that country's security in the face of a military buildup in neighboring Nicaragua. The increase makes the number of United States advisers in Honduras the largest attached to any country in Central America. In El Salvador, for instance, the number is about 55.

Despite millions of dollars spent for ambitious computer operations, authorities say New York City's criminal-justice system is still seriously hampered by missing, delayed and uncoordinated information about individual defendants and about how the system itself is working. In fact, some say the computers themselves have become part of the problem because of a proliferation of systems that do not ''talk'' to each other. The result is that court cases are often delayed, the authorities say, making it difficult for prosecutors and judges to determine how to proceed against defendants or unfairly penalizing defendants. The insufficiency of information also contributes to overcrowding in the city's jails, some critics charge. Moreover, they say, it impedes efforts to determine whether the major elements of the justice system - the laws and courts, the police and prison and probation policies - are working effectively and what changes should be made.

President Reagan is considering support of a bill to provide an immediate $1 billion in Government mortgage subsidies for the housing industry, White House aides said today. But Mr. Reagan also made clear that he felt Congressional inaction on his budget was hurting the housing industry by keeping interest rates high. The President met today with housing leaders, who told him that the industry was on the point of collapse. In another reflection of the recession that has gripped the nation since last summer, the Commerce Department said a preliminary estimate showed that the economy had shrunk at a 4.5 percent annual rate in the current quarter. (Page 33.)

Negotiations between the United Automobile Workers and the General Motors Corporation were recessed early this morning after difficulties arose over several issues. But the talks were to resume at 9 A.M. amid continued hope that an agreement was near. In a brief statement to reporters shortly after midnight, Douglas A. Fraser, the union president, said, ''We're not going to settle tonight. Snags have developed in certain areas such as profit sharing.''