PIB Debunks Chinese Media's False Claim About Ashwini Vaishnaw & Robot

The Press Information Bureau has labeled as false a claim by Chinese outlet 'China Pulse' that Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw presented a Chinese robot as Indian. The controversy led Galgotias University to vacate its stall at the India AI Impact Summit expo. MeitY Secretary S Krishnan emphasized that misinformation cannot be encouraged and called for a code of conduct for such exhibitions. The university apologized, stating a representative was "ill-informed" and gave factually incorrect information without authorization.

Key Points: PIB Fact Check Rejects False Claim on Vaishnaw, Chinese Robot

  • PIB debunks Chinese media claim
  • University vacates AI expo stall
  • Official warns against misinformation
  • Apology issued for "ill-informed" representative
3 min read

Claim by 'China Pulse' concerning Ashwini Vaishnaw's purported remarks is false: PIB Fact Check

PIB declares a Chinese media claim about Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw falsely presenting a robot as Indian is false. University apologizes, vacates expo stall.

"Misinformation cannot be encouraged. - S Krishnan, MeitY Secretary"

New Delhi, February 19

Press Information Bureau, the central government's nodal agency to disseminate information on government policies and programmes, on Wednesday said the claim by a Chinese media outlet 'China Pulse' alleging that Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the Chinese robot presented at Galgotia University is an Indian robot is false and the minister nowhere made such remarks.

"Claim: A tweet by China Pulse alleges that Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the Chinese robot presented at Galgotia University is an Indian robot. #PIBFactCheck: The Claim is false. The Union Minister has nowhere stated that the robot presented by Galgotias University is an Indian robot," PIB said in a post on X.

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S Krishnan said on Wednesday 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.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
The university's apology seems genuine, but this is embarrassing for our academic institutions. We should focus on developing our own indigenous tech instead of just researching on imported ones. Jai Hind!
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Sarah B
As someone working in tech, I appreciate Secretary Krishnan's point about needing a code of conduct for expos. Misrepresentation, even if unintentional, hurts credibility. The focus should be on genuine innovation.
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Aman W
Why is a Chinese outlet so interested in creating a fake story about an Indian minister? Clearly trying to stir the pot. PIB fact check is doing important work.
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Nikhil C
While the fake news is wrong, the university's handling was poor. "Develop" vs "development" is a weak excuse. They should have proper protocols for who speaks to media. A learning moment for all institutions.
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Kavya N
This is why we need 'Make in India' in the tech sector more than ever. Relying on foreign tech and then getting into these controversies is avoidable. Let's build our own robo-dogs! 💪

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