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 idea of ATIRA was conceived by Vikram Sarabhai, Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar.

The foundation stone for the ATIRA complex was laid by Vallabhbhai Patel on 1 November 1950 which was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on completion on 10 April 1954.

Of these 93 are Ginning, Spinning, Weaving, 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, Ministry of Information Technology and other agencies like the Gujarat State Government.