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23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Robot Dog, Paper Tiger

The Galgotias University fiasco reveals how dishonest branding can make a mockery of India’s AI ambitions. Delhi India’s ambition to become a global artificial-intelligence (AI) power ought to rest on something far less glamorous than summits or shiny exhibits, namely basic credibility. That asset took a needless knock at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, where the Uttar Pradesh-based Galgotias University found itself embroiled in a contretemps that has roundly embarrassed the nation. The...

Robot Dog, Paper Tiger

The Galgotias University fiasco reveals how dishonest branding can make a mockery of India’s AI ambitions. Delhi India’s ambition to become a global artificial-intelligence (AI) power ought to rest on something far less glamorous than summits or shiny exhibits, namely basic credibility. That asset took a needless knock at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, where the Uttar Pradesh-based Galgotias University found itself embroiled in a contretemps that has roundly embarrassed the nation. The object at the centre of the controversy was a robotic dog named ORION (short for Operational Robotic Intelligence Node). According to the university’s own promotional material, the robotic dog was the star attraction at its pavilion and interacted live with delegates and demonstrated applied robotics and intelligent systems integration. Visitors assumed it was a product of the institution’s AI-driven Centres of Excellence, itself promoted as part of a Rs. 350-crore push into advanced technology. However, it turned out that the robot was a commercially available Unitree Go2, manufactured in China and sold online for a few lakh rupees. Worse, reports suggested that the original manufacturer’s branding was still visible on the device, leading to a raft of accusations that imported hardware was being passed off as indigenous innovation. Faced with an online backlash, the university insisted it had never claimed to have built the robot. However, this proved difficult for the varsity to disown once scrutiny began. To make matters worse, videos of the robotic dog were amplified by government social-media handles, lending the display an air of state-sanctioned achievement. It suggested that India’s AI push was already yielding sophisticated, home-grown hardware. Within a day of the controversy, Galgotias University was reportedly asked to vacate its stall at the AI Expo. This embarrassment was eminently avoidable. Indian universities routinely rely on foreign platforms as teaching aids, just as their peers elsewhere do. American engineering students cut their teeth on Taiwanese semiconductors while European robotics labs routinely use Japanese hardware. Chinese universities themselves build on American software frameworks and open-source tools developed abroad. Exposure to imported technology is not a confession of weakness. What distinguishes serious systems from performative ones is not the origin of the hardware, but the honesty with which it is presented and the intellectual value extracted from it. In the world’s leading universities, off-the-shelf tools are dissected, stress-tested and improved upon. The learning lies in the code rewritten, the papers published and the incremental advances pushed into the public domain. Indian higher education, particularly in its fast-expanding private sector, too often reverses this logic. Under pressure to attract students, climb rankings and impress regulators, institutions substitute branding for substance. ‘Centres of Excellence’ proliferate faster than serious research output. Memoranda of understanding are announced with fanfare, while citations, patents and reproducible results lag behind. This creates a more delicate problem of dependence without discernment. China’s growing penetration of global education and technology markets is real, strategic and unapologetic. Chinese firms aggressively market low-cost, sophisticated hardware to universities worldwide, embedding their platforms early in the learning cycle. Western firms have done the same for decades. The danger in the uncritical adoption of foreign hardware combined with rhetorical nationalism. When imported technology loudly rebranded as indigenous, the result is not self-reliance but self-deception. The contrast with China itself is instructive. Chinese universities are ruthless about separating demonstration from development. Foreign tools are used extensively but credit, authorship and ownership are policed with care. The aim is not to impress visitors at expos, but to dominate standards bodies and supply chains. India’s AI race will not be won in expo halls or summit pavilions. It will be decided in classrooms that teach mathematical foundations rather than buzzwords. When Indian institutions exaggerate, it weakens the credibility of genuinely good work being done elsewhere in the system. It encourages scepticism among global partners. And it reinforces a lingering suspicion that India’s technological rise is more rhetorical than real. If ‘Make in India’ is to mean anything in the age of artificial intelligence, it must begin with intellectual honesty. Otherwise, the country risks being quietly dismissed in a very serious race.

BJP Boost

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

As the dust settles over the recent Assembly elections, the BJP, defying anti-incumbency prediction of political Cassandras and exit polls, is set for a historic third term in Haryana. This will buoy the party after its underwhelming performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The Haryana outcome not only reinforces the BJP’s foothold in national politics but also presents a counter-narrative to the INDIA bloc’s post-election fervour.

Despite the bogey stoked by lingering farmer protests and discontent surrounding the controversial Agniveer scheme, the BJP strategically diversified its approach, relying not solely on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s star power—evidenced by his reduced number of rallies—but also on a ground-level consolidation of anti-Jat votes. The Congress’s over-reliance on the Jat community backfired, rallying other groups against it. Interestingly, the Dalit vote, which the Congress anticipated would tilt in its favour, has not completely abandoned the BJP.


At the forefront of the BJP's campaign was Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, whose relatively short tenure allowed him to distance himself from the decade-long rule of the previous administration. By introducing measures to benefit the backward classes, including a significant income limit increase for OBC employment from Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 8 lakh, the BJP effectively shifted the narrative in its favour. Their mantra of ‘bina parchi, bina kharchi Naukri (promising jobs without bribes) resonated with voters.


The BJP’s rejuvenated team, led by key figures such as Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and state leaders, has seemingly addressed concerns that arose following its poor showing in the Lok Sabha elections. The incorporation of new candidates in place of established leaders provided a fresh face that contrasted sharply with the Congress’s decision to recycle incumbents.


In contrast, in Jammu and Kashmir, the National Conference, in alliance with the Congress, having crossed the majority threshold, reclaimed its historic dominance and is set to form the government. Here, the BJP’s performance in the first Assembly election held after the abrogation of Article 370, fell short despite its strenuous attempt to position itself as a proponent of development.


The electorate’s apparent rejection of hardline factions like the PDP reflects a nuanced response and win for democracy. Notably, the results have shown a significant rejection of separatist candidates, including those from Engineer Rashid-led Awami Ittehad Party and Jamaat-e-Islami, who failed to make a meaningful impact in the polls.


The BJP’s emphatic victory in Haryana redeems its Lok Sabha misstep but also signals a broader political resurgence, giving the party renewed vigour to march into future contests like the crucial Maharashtra Assembly election.

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