Galgotias University has been asked to vacate its stand at the India AI Impact Summit after staff and officials allegedly displayed a robotic dog originating in China and claimed it as their own invention, sparking a massive row that has also affected political circles. In his defence, Galgotias University Registrar Nitin Kumar Gaur said that RoboDog was never introduced as a university invention.
Claiming a misinterpretation, the registrar explained that the confusion stems from the use of the words “development” and “development”. Gaur said, “This is a jumble of two words, development and development. We didn’t develop it. We worked to develop it… We want to bring them in, just like the robot was brought in and efforts were made to get students to do research on it.”
Professor Neha Singh, who introduced RoboDog as ‘Orion’ at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, clarified: “The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly. I take responsibility that I may not have communicated it correctly because it was done with great energy and enthusiasm and very quickly, so I may not have come across eloquently. It was understood correctly.” Also read | After robodog row, Galgotias face fresh backlash over ‘built-from-scratch’ drone claims | Viral video
“One important point is about the robot dog – we can’t claim to have made it. I told everyone that we introduced it to our students to inspire them to create something better themselves. Our university is contributing to building future leaders by providing cutting-edge AI technology and will continue to do so,” she said.
As the controversy rages on, let’s know a few details about Galgotias University:
Galgotias University is located opposite Buddha International Circuit in Sector 17A Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the university’s website, the private university has been ranked among the fastest growing universities in India in the QS World University Rankings 2026 and QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026.
It is ranked 15th among the top private universities and 43rd among all Indian universities – public and private combined.
In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2025, Galgotias University was ranked 45th among Indian universities (including both government and private institutions) and ranked in the globally prestigious 1001–1200 band.
Smt. Shakuntla Education and Welfare Society was incorporated in 1998 and registered under the Companies Registration Act XXI of 1860 with its registered address at Daryaganj, New Delhi.
The company has since been running institutions called “Galgotias” in Greater Noida, UP.
According to the university website, the members of the society are Suneel Galgotia, Padmini Galgotia and Dhruv Galgotia.
The company operates three colleges namely: Galgotias Institute of Management & Technology (GIMT) and Galgotias College of Engineering & Technology (GCET) and Galgotia College of Pharmacy (GCP) and one university named Galgotias University (GU) in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh.