Galgotias University RoboDog Controversy: Chinese Unitree Go2 at India AI Impact Summit 2026

Galgotias University, a private institution based in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, secured a stall at the AI Impact Expo. Their centrepiece was a quadruped robotic dog, introduced with considerable fanfare.

In a video interview broadcast on DD News — India’s national public broadcaster — Neha Singh, an Assistant Professor of Communications at the university, presented the robot with pride. “You need to meet Orion,” she said. “This has been developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias University.” She described the robot’s capabilities: surveillance tasks, postures, moonwalks, and somersaults.

Broadcast during India’s highest-profile government tech event, it was the kind of moment institutions dream of — a researcher on national television showcasing homegrown innovation. It lasted less than 24 hours before the floor fell out.

Within hours of the DD News clip circulating on social media, users began identifying the robot. “Orion” — the pride of Galgotias University’s Centre of Excellence — was identified as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available quadruped robot manufactured by Unitree Robotics, a Chinese robotics company.

The Unitree Go2 is widely used in research institutions, universities, and hobbyist communities worldwide. It is sold in India through online distributors for approximately ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh (roughly $1,600–$2,800 internationally). It was not a prototype, not a university-built innovation — it was a product anyone could order online.

The clip went instantly viral across X (Twitter), YouTube, and WhatsApp, with a mix of outrage and dark humour. Remarkably, this exposure was carried out entirely by ordinary social media users — not journalists, not government officials, not fact-checkers.

As scrutiny of Galgotias intensified, a second problem emerged. The university had also displayed what was described as an indigenous soccer drone built by students “from scratch.” Investigation revealed this, too, was a commercially available product — the Striker V3 ARF, manufactured by Helsel Group, a South Korea-based firm that produces equipment for competitive drone sports leagues and training programmes. The Striker V3 is sold in India for approximately ₹40,000.

To compound the embarrassment, reports emerged that the original drone model on display was a thermocol mockup held together with tape and wire — raising questions not just about misrepresentation, but about whether the university had any substantial innovation to exhibit at all.

The controversy quickly entered India’s political arena. The Indian National Congress posted on X: “The Modi government has made a laughing stock of India globally, with regard to AI. In the ongoing AI summit, Chinese robots are being displayed as our own.”

Congress leader Pawan Khera wrote that this was the legacy of a “Galgotia Government” that had “nourished Galgotia-like Universities,” and argued that six of the seven Indian-origin global tech CEOs praised by French President Emmanuel Macron had studied in institutions built under previous governments. In a pointed jab, Khera stated the IT minister had proved that “AI means ‘Ashwini is Incompetent.'”

The BJP government, which had carefully curated the summit as a showcase of India’s technological rise, was placed on the defensive. The controversy demonstrated how quickly a single viral moment can undermine a carefully constructed national narrative.

As the controversy snowballed, the government moved decisively — if ambiguously. Summit organisers asked Galgotias University to vacate its exhibition stall and cut off the electricity supply to the booth. S. Krishnan, Secretary at MeitY, confirmed the action publicly.

However, Krishnan’s statement was itself a study in evasion. He said “misinformation cannot be encouraged” but simultaneously stated he could not “get into whether they’re right or wrong, we just don’t want the controversy.” Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at MeitY, added that exhibits “should not be misleading” — without explicitly acknowledging misrepresentation had occurred.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had initially shared the original DD News clip on his own X account as a positive showcase of the summit. When the controversy broke, he quietly deleted the post — a detail noted widely in media coverage and itself a piece of the larger story.

Galgotias University issued three separate statements, each reflecting a different defensive posture as pressure mounted:

• Statement 1 — Defiance: The university called the backlash a “coordinated propaganda campaign” motivated by political or competitive interests: “We at Galgotias, faculty and students, are deeply pained by the propaganda campaign against our university.”
• Statement 2 — Reframing: The university shifted position, stating the robot was purchased from Unitree and used as an educational tool — not presented as an original invention. It argued that using globally available tools to teach AI programming was legitimate.
• Statement 3 — Apology with deflection: The university apologised “profusely” for the “confusion” and placed responsibility entirely on Professor Neha Singh, stating she “was ill-informed” and “was not authorised to speak to the press.” This was widely criticised as institutional scapegoating.

Professor Singh, for her part, told PTI: “Regarding the robot dog, we cannot claim that we manufactured it. I have told everyone that we introduced it to our students to inspire them to create something better on their own.” She added she had no information about the eviction order — even as government officials were confirming it publicly.

Galgotias University is not new to controversy. Founded by Suneel Galgotia, the institution originated as the Galgotias Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) before being granted university status by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2011. The university currently has over 40,000 students enrolled across 200+ programmes.

Its history includes several legal issues: between 2010 and 2012, founder Suneel Galgotia was accused of using forged documents to obtain a loan of ₹120 crore; in 2011, students admitted with hostel promises were placed in accommodation 14 km from campus; Suneel Galgotia’s mother, wife, and son received non-bailable warrants for fraud; and current CEO Dhruv Galgotia spent 14 days in jail in connection with these cases.

The 2026 AI Summit controversy, while different in nature, fits a pattern of prioritising institutional appearance over substance.

The Galgotias episode was part of a broader set of challenges at the summit:

• The NeoSapien Theft: Dhananjay Yadav, Co-Founder and CEO of AI startup NeoSapien, reported that his company’s patented AI wearables were stolen from inside the summit premises on Day 1, after exhibitors were asked to vacate stalls ahead of PM Modi’s visit. Items were later recovered by Delhi Police.
• The No-UPI Food Stall: A widely shared post noted that a food counter at India’s flagship AI summit accepted only cash — not UPI — prompting the sardonic hashtag #DigitalIndia.
• Locked-Out Startups: Several founders reported being locked out of their own booths due to poor access management during the PM’s visit. Bolna co-founder Maitreya Wagh tweeted that he was locked out and jokingly suggested setting up at a Connaught Place café instead.