The Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA) was registered by members of the Millowners' Association, Bombay, under the Societies Registration Act, XXI of 1860 on 21st April 1954, with nine mill companies contributing to the Memorandum and Articles of Association. BTRA has grown leaps and bounds over the years since its inception in 1954 to meet the technological needs of the Indian textile industry as well as to achieve S&T objectives set at the national level. BTRA members include not only textile units (from the mill sector as well as a decentralised sector) but also manufacturers from man-made fibre, machinery, dyes and chemical auxiliaries industries. The BTRA zone largely comprised composite mills and from the beginning, the R & D and services were fine-tuned to satisfy their comprehensive requirements. Industrial research is viewed today as a commercial operation to be justified solely by the usefulness of the results to the textile industry. Therefore, the limited resources of BTRA have been, from the very beginning, efficiently deployed in such areas where maximum benefits accrue to the textile industry. R & D activities at BTRA cover applied and basic research, process and product development, new and frontier areas of technology, engineering and microprocessor-based instrumentation, operational studies to improve and standardize mill working, testing and consultancy services, maintenance audit, energy conservation and additional energy sources, communication and training, post graduate research and appropriate technology for the Decentralised Sector. Assistance to the Government and Public Sector Institutions on matters related to technical aspects of the industry is also an integral part of its activities.