4 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Feb 20, 2026 01:52 PM IST
The Galgotias College incident has put the highlight on how area was allotted to exhibitors on the world AI occasion showcasing India’s tech achievements. The exhibition area on the India AI Affect Expo was leased out on a first-come, first-served foundation below the supervision of the Software program Know-how Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous physique below the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), with no formal vetting of what these establishments deliberate to showcase.
Galgotias College, a non-public establishment, had been allotted a 155-square-metre sales space at Bharat Mandapam’s Corridor 6 earlier than being evicted from the venue on account of the Chinese language robotic canine displayed by it. This area was over 15% greater than 4 IITs and a analysis establishment (housed in the identical corridor) put collectively. The allocation of area was carried out on a requirement foundation, based on an occasion organiser.
Ground plans obtained from the expo organisers present that 4 IITs and a analysis establishment mixed acquired 130 sq. metres of area. The breakup is as follows: IIT Bombay (35 sqm), IIT Madras (35 sqm), IIT Kharagpur (24 sqm), IIT Gandhinagar (18 sqm), and Airawat Analysis Basis at IIT Kanpur (18 sqm). The Indian Categorical had earlier reported that the IITs showcased AI-enabled flood alert techniques, speech synthesis and waste segregation strategies, amongst different issues.
Galgotias College professor Neha (L); and the robodog the college displayed throughout the AI summit (R). (Categorical picture)
Cost diverse based on the area allotted. On the mounted price of Rs 9,000 per sq. metre for tutorial establishments, Galgotias alone paid roughly Rs 14 lakh (excluding taxes and electrical energy connection fees) to the federal government.
An official concerned in deciding on exhibitors stated, “We had been of the view that exhibitors would self-police and never show issues they’d no proper to say possession over. The expo was deliberate based on worldwide requirements, and we didn’t need to direct what exhibitors can and can’t show.”
The controversy erupted on Wednesday when a professor on the Galgotias sales space offered a commercially accessible Unitree Go2 robotic, manufactured by China’s Unitree Robotics, as a product developed by the college. The following backlash prompted authorities to ask the establishment to vacate its stall, and the college subsequently issued an apology.
— Galgotias College (@GalgotiasGU) February 17, 2026
The STPI was in control of establishing the expo, together with renting out area to potential exhibitors. Queries despatched by The Indian Categorical to MeitY and Galgotias College remained unanswered on the time of going to Press.
S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Info Know-how, stated the federal government wished solely unique work to be showcased on the summit. “We would like real and precise work to be exhibited. We don’t need a controversial company which has misled the general public,” he stated.
“That is an exhibition meant for demonstration,” Krishnan stated, including that whereas such exhibitions don’t contain formal certification processes, they don’t seem to be meant to advertise deceptive claims.
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Abhishek Singh, Chief Govt Officer of the IndiaAI Mission, stated misrepresentation violated the phrases exhibitors agreed to whereas taking part on the expo.
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