The term Academic Associate may be specific to India or it may be generic. But a reasonable definition might be: Academic Associate. It seems to be something like a post-doc, though not actually requiring a doctorate. But, according to that definition, it isn't really a faculty position, but one for an assistant to a professor. I suggest that if you want a career you want to look beyond that.

Entry level probably means different things in different places. I would hope that it always means entry into an actual career and not just a dead-end job. Thus Assistant Professor (in the US) is entry level, in my view, but adjunct instructor is not, since the latter has little future. An assistant professorship normally requires a doctorate, though there are some exceptions at smaller institutions. But an assistant professor is a regular faculty position with normal faculty requirements: teaching, research, service.

An associate professor nearly always requires a doctorate and a period of probation to earn, normally seven years as an assistant professor if in the US. At the end of the seven years you either get promoted to associate professor or are required to leave. The necessary activities of a probationary faculty member are dependent on the nature of the college or university. For most it is heavily research oriented, but in teaching college the research requirement may be only nominal rather than fundamental. (Again, this is a US perspective and some of it may apply to India, or not.)

But for a career, even as an educator rather than a researcher, you are well advised to earn a doctorate. It will take time and effort, but it gives you options that you won't have otherwise.