The Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (commonly known as ATIRA) is an autonomous non-profit association for textile research located in Ahmedabad, India. It is the largest association for textile research & allied industries in India. Established on December 13, 1947 and started in 1949, ATIRA was recognized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research under the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. It was later linked to the Ministry of Textiles.

Establishment

The idea of ATIRA was conceived by Vikram Sarabhai, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar. The foundation stone for the ATIRA complex was laid by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 1 November 1950 which was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on completion on April 10, 1954. The architect of the ATIRA building is Achyut Kanvinde. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai served as its first honorary director.

Membership and funding

Membership in ATIRA is voluntary. ATIRA has 146 member units in both India and abroad. Of these 93 are Ginning, Spinning, Weaving, Process Houses and Composite Textile Units and 53 are manufacturers of fibres, dyes, chemicals, instruments, equipments and machinery.

ATIRA is financed by four sources - Annual Subscription from member units, income from the services it has rendered, sponsored research from the Industry, Ministry of Textiles, Ministry of Information Technology and other agencies like the Gujarat State Government. Grant aid is also provided by the Government of India.

Administration

ATIRA's governing council consists of 17 members. It consists of 5 elected members from the industry, including the Chairman, 3 nominated members from various departments of Government of India and 3 scientists as designated members. In addition to these a representative from the associate members and the president of the Ahmedabad Textile Mills Association are also the members of the council. The 4 Directors of Cotton Textile Research Associations are ex-officio members including the Director of ATIRA.

At present the Association has a total membership of 91 units spread all over India. This consists of 10 original or privileged members units and 81 Associate Members units.

The Director of ATIRA is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization.

The current Director of ATIRA is Dr. A. K. Sharma.

Location

ATIRA is situated close to many prominent research and educational institutions like Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Physical Research Laboratory and Gujarat University. It has a 2,72,000-square-metre campus which has a plant coverage of over 1,000 trees. This has made it a popular spot for morning walks and jogging among local residents.

References

• ATIRA homepage
• Information Technology Centre for Textile Industry