About Professional Awards Committee (PAC)

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One of the important objectives stated in the Memorandum of the Textile Association (India) is to grant certificates of competency to the persons working in the Textile Industry by examination or by application. The awards of Associate-ship (ATA) and Fellowship (FTA) of the Textile Association by application (Direct award) were instituted in 1946. These awards aim at securing a class of persons who will be recognized as competent and proficient technologists with experience in important branches of the textile industry viz. spinning, weaving, chemical processing and textile testing and quality control etc.

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For creating opportunities for persons working in the textile industry to improve their professional qualification, the Textile Association (India) started a diploma level course for awarding Associate of Textile Association (ATA) by examination, in 1954. The Professional Awards Committee (PAC) was formed to look after these academic activities of the association. In 1963 four specialization groups were formed covering spinning, weaving, chemical processing and textile testing & quality control. Jute processing as a specialization was introduced in 1976 and as there was no demand for this specialization in later years, it was withdrawn in 2000. ATA by examination was accorded recognition as Technical qualification by The Government of India in 1969 for the purpose of recruitment to subordinate positions and services in appropriate fields.

In the year 1989 a Graduate level course of five years duration, Graduate Member of the Textile Association (GMTA) was introduced. Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum – 590 014, Karnataka State, India has recognized GMTA as equivalent to B.Tech (Textiles), for the purpose of admission to post-graduate courses, with clearing Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineers (GATE) being a requirement.

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The ATA and GMTA courses operate on the distance learning mode. The examinations are conducted annually in the month of December, in various approved examination centres across India. After assessment, the results are declared by the end of March every year.

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Recently the ATA course has been revised to 3 year duration to make it comparable to the formal diploma course offered by the Polytechnics. When recognized by the Government, the ATA pass outs can become eligible for admission to second year of Degree course in Textiles offered by the colleges. The GMTA course has also been revised to cater to the changing needs of the industry and covers areas of Garment Technology, Technical Textiles, Nonwovens etc.

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PAC is the academic wing of the Textile Association (India) for managing the above activities. Conducting ATA and GMTA examinations is an important function of the PAC. PAC has periodically modified/revised the courses to cater to the needs of the industry. With the distance learning mode of operation of the courses, in order to cater to the personnel in the industry across the country, it is important to provide academic support to the candidates taking these exams. For this purpose model question/answers for the various subjects were made available, for the earlier ATA course. For the revised ATA course comprehensive study material has been prepared for all the subjects. Relevant books and other technical literature are made available at many of the units of the Textile Association. Some of the units provide professional support and guidance.

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PAC is also responsible for the award of the Direct ATA and FTA by application. The committee meets twice annually to scrutinize and finalize these awards and when required, additional information and documents are asked from the candidates. The results of the ATA and GMTA examinations are also reviewed. Recommendation for the direct awards and the results are sent to the Governing Council of the Textile Association (India) for approval. The awardees can write the title ATA/FTA/GMTA with their names when it is approved.

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More recently through the PAC the Textile Association (India) has entered into an MoU with the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) for developing B.A Textiles for those working below supervisory level in the mills.