Galgotias University Faces Controversy at Global AI Summit 2026

Galgotias University became the subject of controversy at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, held from February 16-20, 2026, at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The summit, a major government-led international event, aimed to position India as a leader in inclusive and responsible AI, featuring discussions on ethical AI governance and real-world applications. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event, which saw the participation of global tech leaders.

Galgotias University occupied a substantial 155-square-meter pavilion at the summit. The university showcased an NVIDIA-powered supercomputing infrastructure for generative AI research, an AI-driven Centre of Excellence, and a Drone Intelligence Lab. Among its exhibits was an interactive robotic dog named ORION (Operational Robotic Intelligence Node).

What happened at the event?

On February 18, 2026, the university faced criticism after its representative allegedly claimed ORION was an in-house innovation developed by its students. Tech experts and social media users subsequently identified the robot as the Unitree Go2, a commercially available product from a Chinese robotics firm. Similar concerns were raised regarding a "drone soccer arena" exhibited by the university, which was also found to be a commercially available product.

The action taken against Galgotias:

Following these revelations, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) ordered Galgotias University to immediately vacate its stall. Power to the pavilion was disconnected, and the university was removed from the expo to uphold the integrity of the event. Galgotias University later issued an official apology, stating that the robot was used as a learning tool for students and attributing the misrepresentation to an "ill-informed" representative.

Aside from its participation in the India AI Impact Summit, Galgotias University is scheduled to host its own academic conferences later in 2026, including the 6th International Conference on Computing, Power, and Communication Technologies (IC2PCT-2026) from May 15–17, and the International Conference on Intelligent Computing, Control & Communication (ICICCC-2026) from October 14–15.