The Ahmedabad Textile Industry's Research Association (commonly known as ATIRA) is an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defi ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

association for textile research located in the

Navarangpura Navarangpura, also spelled Navrangpura, is an area in the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. The neighborhood was one of the first to be developed outside of the Old City. Navrangpura, along with residential societies, houses many cafes and res ...

area of

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is the largest association for textile research and allied industries in India. Established on 13 December 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 The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. It was later linked to the Ministry of Textiles.

Establishment

The idea of ATIRA was conceived by

Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Often regarded as the "''Father of Indian space program''", Sar ...

Kasturbhai Lalbhai Kasturbhai Lalbhai (19 December 1894 – 20 January 1980) was an Indian industrialist and philanthropist. He co-founded Arvind Mills along with his brothers and several other institutes. He was a co-founder of the Ahmadabad Education Society wh ...

and

Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Sir Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (21 February 1894 – 1 January 1955) was an Indian colloid chemist, academic and scientific administrator. The first director-general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Bhatnagar is revere ...

. ATIRA was founded in 1947. Vikram Sarabhai served as its first honorary director.

ATIRA Complex

The foundation stone for the ATIRA complex was laid by

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ''Vallabhbhāī Jhāverbhāī Paṭel''; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was an Indian independence activist and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime ...

on 1 November 1950 which was inaugurated by the then

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

on completion on 10 April 1954. The architect of the ATIRA building is

Achyut Kanvinde Achyut Purushottam Kanvinde (9 February 1916 – 28 December 2002) was an Indian architect who worked in functionalist approaches with elements of Brutalist architecture. He received the Padma Shri in 1974. Early life and education He was bo ...

. The exterior of the building are influenced by

Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...

Membership and funding

Membership in ATIRA is voluntary. ATIRA has 146 member units in both India and abroad. Of these 93 are

Ginning A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

Spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

Weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

, Process Houses and Composite Textile Units and 53 are manufacturers of fibres, dyes, chemicals, instruments, equipment 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 The Ministry of Textiles is an Indian government national agency responsible for the formulation of policy, planning, development, export promotion and regulation of the textile industry in India. This includes all natural, artificial, and ce ...

, 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 An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

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.

Location

ATIRA is situated close to many prominent research and educational institutions like

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM Ahmedabad or IIM-A), is a business school, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It is one of the Indian Institutes of Management and was accorded the status of an Institute of National Impor ...

Physical Research Laboratory The Physical Research Laboratory ( PRL; Hindi: भौतिक अनुसंधान प्रयोगशाला, IAST: ''Bhoutik Anusandhan Prayogashala'') is a National Research Institute for space and allied sciences, supported mainly ...

and

Gujarat University The Gujarat University is a public state university located at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. The university is an affiliating university at the under-graduate level and a teaching university at the post graduate level. It is accredited A+ by NAAC ...

. 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

External links

* {{Ahmedabad topics Organizations established in 1947 Organisations based in Ahmedabad Business organisations based in India 1947 establishments in India Ministry of Textiles Science and technology in Gujarat Textile industry associations Textile industry in Gujarat Textile organizations