IT Secretary S Krishnan (ANI Image)
NEW DELHI: Exhibitors at the AI Impact Summit should not display items that do not belong to them, IT Minister S Krishnan said on Wednesday, as controversy continues over a Chinese-made robot dog displayed by Galgotias University.“Exhibitors should not display things that are not their own,” Krishnan said, amid questions about displaying the robot at the summit venue in New Delhi, news agency PTI reported.
AI Impact Summit: Facing backlash over a Chinese-made robo-dog, Galgotias University has asked to leave the event
The Minister of Information Technology said that the government wants to display only real works on such platforms and stressed the need to avoid disputes over the exhibits.
“We want the real, actual work to be reflected in the way people show it in the galleries. The idea is not to use this as an opportunity in any other way.
We do not want the controversy surrounding the exhibits displayed here. So I think it is necessary to follow the code there. Misinformation cannot be encouraged. So we don’t want to argue about this matter. I don’t get into whether they are right or wrong.
“We just don’t want controversy.”The controversy erupted during the AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam after a robot dog displayed by the university under the name ‘Orion’ was identified as Unitree Go2, a commercially available four-legged robot manufactured by Chinese company Unitree Robotics and sold in India for around Rs 2-3 lakh.
The summit, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a major event to showcase India’s progress in the field of artificial intelligence. The presentation attracted criticism as it was claimed that the machine was presented as an in-house innovation at an event focused on enhancing local AI capabilities.Government sources said earlier that the university was asked to vacate its booth after the dispute, and the power supply to its booth was cut off after it was directed to leave the exhibition.In a press release issued after it was asked to vacate the premises, the university expressed regret over the confusion and said it was because Professor Neha Singh, who was manning the kiosk, was not aware of the technical origins of the product.“We at Galgotias University would like to sincerely apologize for the confusion that occurred at the recent AI Summit. One of our representatives, who runs the booth, was not aware of this.
She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and, in her excitement to appear on camera, provided incorrect information even though she was not authorized to speak to the press… Understanding the feelings of the organizers, we evacuated the building.The issue escalated after Professor Singh, while introducing the robot to DD News, said, “We are the first private university to invest more than Rs 350 crore in AI… So Orion has been developed by the Center of Excellence and as you can see, it can take all shapes and sizes.”
It also described the robot as capable of performing monitoring and monitoring tasks.Her statements sparked scrutiny after observers realized the device was an off-the-shelf product sold globally by Unitree Robotics.In a previous clarification, the university said that it did not manufacture or claim to have built the robotic dog, and that its goal is to help students learn using globally available technologies.“Let us be clear – Galgotias did not build this robot, nor do we claim to. But what we are building are minds that will soon design, engineer and manufacture such technologies here in Bharat,” the letter said.Professor Singh later said the controversy stemmed from a lack of clarity in communication and that the university had introduced the robot to inspire students, not to demand manufacturing certification.
