“Misinformation cannot be encouraged, essential that a code is followed”: MeitY Secy on Galgotia University’s robodog controversy

New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI): Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan has said that they want genuine and actual work to be reflected in the way that people exhibit in expos such as AI Summit 2026 and a code should be followed.
Talking to the media here, he said misinformation cannot be encouraged.
Answering a query on Galgotias University vacating the stall at the AI Impact Expo 2026, Krishnan said he is not getting into whether they are right or wrong and "just don't want the controversy".
"We want genuine and actual work to be reflected in the way that people exhibit in expos. The idea is not to sort of use this as an opportunity in any other fashion. We don't want the controversy surrounding the exhibits presented here. So I think it's essential that a code is followed there. Misinformation cannot be encouraged. So we don't want the controversy around this. I'm not getting into whether they are right or wrong. We just don't want the controversy," he said.
The Galgotias University staff and officials on Wednesday vacated their stall at the India AI Impact Summit expo, following controversy over the display of a "Chinese" robodog.
According to sources, the authorities had asked Galgotias University to vacate its expo stall.
Galgotias University Registrar Nitin Kumar Gaur on Wednesday issued a press release on behalf of the University and apologized for the confusion created at the Al Summit.
"We at Galgotias University, wish to apologise profusely for the confusion created at the recent Al Summit. One of our representatives, manning the pavilion, was ill-informed. She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information even though she was not authorised to speak to the press," the release said.
"We request your kind understanding as there was no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation. Galgotias University remains firmly committed to academic integrity, transparency, and responsible representation of our work. Understanding the organisers sentiment we have vacated the premises," it added.
Gaur earlier issued a clarification amid growing controversy over the display of a "Chinese" RoboDog at the AI Impact Summit.
Speaking to ANI, Gaur explained that the confusion stemmed from the use of the words "develop" and "development."
He clarified that the university did not develop the robot but had worked on its development for academic and research purposes.
"This is a jumble of two words, develop, and development. We didn't develop it. We worked on its development... We want to bring them, just like that robot was brought, and an effort was made to get students to do research on it," Gaur said.
Addressing a viral video in which Professor Neha Singh introduced the RoboDog as "Orion" during the AI expo, Gaur suggested there may have been a misunderstanding in the wording.
"I can say that perhaps she (Professor Neha) might have been confused by the words "develop" and "development" in the flow. But the truth is that we bought this robot for children's research... If China is making the claim, then maybe it (robodog) could be bought from China... I haven't received any such official communication yet (on vacating the expo)," Gaur said. (ANI)