Galgotias University displayed a Chinese robodog. But has India made one?

The Galgotias University robodog fiasco on Wednesday (February 18) at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi has brought the institution significant embarrassment. For the uninitiated, the Greater Noida varsity presented a Chinese robot as its own innovation.

Now, amid the ongoing row, the Indian startup General Autonomy has showcased its “built in India” quadruped robot on social media. The name is “Param.” The startup also took a sharp shot at the Galgotias University row, declaring, “Enough of this nonsense,” as it presented its homegrown innovation.

We take a look.

Meet Param, the robodog

Built completely from scratch by Indian engineers rather than just assembled locally, Param is the country’s most powerful indigenous robot dog, according to the robotics startup.

On February 18 (Wednesday), the company released a clip on X with a caption, “Enough of this nonsense! Presenting PARAM: India’s most powerful indigenous robot dog. Not assembled, not bought, BUILT IN INDIA, built by INDIANS. For our nation, for our century, for our world.”

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Enough of this nonsense!
Presenting PARAM: India's most powerful indigenous robot dog. Not assembled, not bought, BUILT IN INDIA, built by INDIANS. For our nation, for our century, for our world!
Jai Hind! 🇮🇳@narendramodi @adgpi @AshwiniVaishnaw @GoI_MeitY @startupindia pic.twitter.com/Djwuvzksne

— General Autonomy (@GeneralAutonomy) February 18, 2026

The now-viral video features Param navigating Bengaluru traffic, effortlessly detecting obstacles, climbing stairs up to 30 cm, and performing a crab walk to pass under low openings. The startup also highlights Param’s abilities in autonomous navigation, tracking, and automatic fall recovery.

Another X handle Runtime also shared a video of the robot dog walking around the HSR Layout in Bengaluru. According to the post, the robot dog, Param, weighs 35 kg and offers eight hours of battery life, with hot-swappable batteries. The jump height of Param is 1m, with a total speed of 3 m/s.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: A robot dog has been spotted walking the streets of HSR Layout, Bengaluru. Here's the details:

Dog name: PARAM
Creator: @GeneralAutonomy
Weight: 35kg
Max payload: 20kg
Top speed: 3m/s
Jump height: 1m
Battery: 8 hours + hot swapping
Commercially available: ~Q2 2026 pic.twitter.com/iL56FBi4Ds

— Runtime (@RuntimeBRT) December 7, 2025

Tech influencer Caleb also reshared the same post, stating that Param is “almost entirely indigenous,” with the only non-Indian parts being the Nvidia Jetson GPU and actuators.

Caleb wrote on X, “This is so much more impressive when you realise that this robot dog is almost entirely indigenous. Only non-Indian parts are the actuators + Nvidia Jetson GPU. Oh, and it was built by a team of 5 people in 30 days.IP67 rated, running temperature: -20C to +55C.”

This is so much more impressive when you realise that this robot dog is almost entirely indigenous.

Only non-Indian parts are the actuators + Nvidia Jetson GPU.

Oh, and it was built by a team of 5 people in 30 days.

IP67 rated, running temperature: -20C to +55C https://t.co/f8NMqCMGms

— Caleb (@caleb_friesen) December 7, 2025

In January, General Autonomy also exhibited the robot dog Param in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at a programme marking a decade of the Startup India initiative.

Honoured to present our robot dog PARAM to the Hon’ble PM of India Shri @narendramodi, in the presence of @PiyushGoyal, at the #NationalStartupDay2026 Deep Tech showcase by @DPIITGoI @startupindia.
PM’s advice to our founder @frdahsan: take care of PARAM in Delhi winters! pic.twitter.com/FHGi464Lue

— General Autonomy (@GeneralAutonomy) January 17, 2026

How have netizens reacted to Param?

The post quickly drew widespread attention, triggering a flurry of reactions. Several users praised the development, with one commenting, “Impressive work, our technocrats and your reporting deserve greater appreciation and support," as quoted by the Business Standard.

Another had questions. “What about the software? That’s the most crucial factor of any robot. 30 days is definitely not enough to develop such software. Assembling a computer is not the same as creating a computer.”

“Seems it only has a commercial use case, and competes with Boston Dynamics if they can mass produce at cheaper costs,” a third user said.

“India is waking up to its potential," some hailed the excitement surrounding the innovation, the media outlet reported.

What is the Galgotias University row?

Noida-based Galgotias University vacated its stall from the India AI Impact Summit on Wednesday (February 18) after a controversy erupted over a robotic dog showcased at its booth.

Critics alleged that the robot, presented as an in-house innovation, was actually a commercially available Chinese product. Social media users soon pointed out that the innovation was developed and commercially sold by a Chinese company, Unitree, and not by Galgotias.

Now this episode has sparked widespread criticism and raised concerns about transparency in the presentation of technological developments.

In response, Galgotias University issued an apology for the confusion surrounding the display, asserting that a representative had shared “factually incorrect information” in her enthusiasm while speaking on camera.

What are robodogs?

Quadruped robots, commonly known as robot dogs, are built to move across challenging terrain, scale obstacles, and transport equipment in environments where wheeled machines fall short.

Globally, these robots are finding growing applications in industrial inspections, disaster relief efforts, defence operations, and scientific research.

Indian firms such as xTerra Robotics have been advancing practical, field-ready solutions. The startup recently unveiled Svan-2, described as India’s first commercial quadruped robot, reported India Today.

In India, developers are increasingly prioritising indigenous engineering, control systems, and mechanical design.

With inputs from agencies