Just hours after controversy erupted over its presentation at the AI Impact Summit 2025, Galgotias University is once again in hot water on social media — this time over claims related to a drone project presented as an indigenous campus innovation.
A new video circulating online, allegedly filmed during the recent AI Impact Summit, shows a university representative explaining what she describes as a drone developed “from scratch” at Galgotias. The clip also includes a claim that the institution has built India’s first drone football arena on its campus.
However, online users and drone enthusiasts were quick to dispute these claims. Several people have pointed out that the drone shown in the video closely resembles the Striker V3 ARF, a commercially available semi-assembled drone designed specifically for drone soccer competitions and sold internationally for around ₹40,000.
The Striker V3 ARF is manufactured by Skyball Drone, a company known for drone football equipment, and is not understood to be an original design developed from the ground up by Indian universities. The visuals in the viral video – including the spherical protective frame – appear to match the commercially available model.
The clip went viral after Galgotias University was reportedly asked to leave the summit following allegations that it was showing off a Chinese-made robotic dog as an internal student innovation. That previous episode had already sparked outrage online, with critics accusing the institution of misrepresenting imported technology as indigenous research.
With the emergence of the drone video, the criticism intensified. Users across platforms have questioned whether the drone was actually designed on campus, or whether it was merely assembled, modified or rebranded.
“Claim: built from scratch on campus. Reality: commercially available model,” wrote one user, demanding immediate clarification and transparency. Another comment mocked the situation, saying the university appeared to be “innovating how to build stories on lies.”
Others were harsher, with some calling for the institution’s exclusion from future exhibitions and warning that such controversies risk international embarrassment for India’s academic and innovation ecosystem.
The backlash also revived scrutiny of statements made during the summit, where a university official reportedly claimed that almost ₹350 crore has been invested in building an artificial intelligence ecosystem on campus for students. Critics online questioned whether such investments were accurately reflected in the original research and development.
Responding to earlier reports that Galgotias University had been asked to leave the summit, Professor Neha Singh said the dispute stemmed from a lack of clear communication. She claimed that the institution was not formally ordered to vacate the site.
The university has yet to issue a detailed explanation regarding the specific claims made in the drone video — such as whether the drone was fully designed in-house, partially assembled or modified from an existing commercial model.