The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) organized a series of theme meetings starting in 2012 to bring together faculty members from engineering colleges to address regional challenges with the guidance of eminent researchers. These meetings led to the establishment of the International Conference on Advanced Technologies for Societal Applications, with the first conference held in 2016 and subsequent ones in 2018, 2020, and 2022. The conferences aimed to foster international collaboration and exchange ideas on using advanced technology to solve societal problems, particularly for rural India.