New Delhi, February 21 Former science and technology minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday criticized the government over the Galgotias robodog controversy, saying the incident reflected its negligence and had led to the creation of a new term – "Galgotian blunder".
The Rajya Sabha member also commented on the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the country and questioned the government's preparedness.
"There is an international conference on artificial intelligence. This is a good thing, and I welcome it. We have a new word in the dictionary – "herculean blunder," and the new word is "Galgotian blunder." Galgotian blunder leading to Galgotian blunder," Sibal said at a press conference here.
"It is amazing that a robodog was displayed, and our IT minister (Ashwini Vaishnaw) also tweeted about it. When it emerged that it was developed by China, he deleted it. Terms like "Galgotian presentation," "Galgotian exaggeration," and "Galgotian blunder" have been coined. These terms will also be used in Parliament," he said, criticizing the government.
He said it was unfortunate that this happened under the government's watch.
"They did not even conduct due diligence to examine the products being displayed in the stalls," he said, criticizing the government.
He alleged that this was the government's negligence, and it was a serious matter.
Speaking about AI, Sibal said it could benefit the country in sectors such as agriculture, education, and healthcare.
"This is a great opportunity for the country. The government needs to pay attention to this, and I think it will," he said.
Sibal pointed out that proper funding for AI was lacking. He said that in the 2025 budget, there was an allocation of Rs 2000 crore, of which only 40 per cent was spent, while this year it is Rs 1000 crore.
"So, China and the US are far ahead of us in investments. We can only work in the application technology sector. Can India really take global leadership if we only provide services?" he asked.
Sibal said that India's investment in research and development is 0.64 per cent of its GDP.
"If India contributes less than 2 per cent to global computing infrastructure, then how can we be leaders?" he asked.
Speaking about the consequences of AI, he said it would eliminate jobs in the IT-BPO sector.
He said that there would be a need to upskill the youth, but the government has not paid attention to this.
"These issues should be debated, and the government should discuss these challenges and how to address them," he said, adding that the government only talks about taking leadership.
"That is why I said, they (BJP) know how to win elections, but they don't know how to rule," Sibal said.
Representatives from Galgotias University showcased a robotic dog named Orion on Tuesday, claiming it was developed by the Centre of Excellence at Galgotias, prompting social media users to highlight that it was a Unitree Go2, manufactured by China's Unitree Robotics, and commonly used in research and education worldwide.
The private university made a desperate attempt to justify the situation through Wednesday, such as claiming that one person's six could be another's nine, but later issued an apology after the organizers cut power to its stall at the event and asked the occupants to leave.
IT Secretary S Krishnan said that the government did not want any exhibitor to showcase items that were not their own. "We do not want such exhibits to continue," he said, after the organizers asked Galgotias to vacate the stall. In its apology, Galgotias University said that the person "manning the pavilion was ill-informed".
