A Chinese robodog dressed up as indigenous innovation. Students going viral outside the Congress headquarters in 2024, unable to explain the protest they were part of. For Galgotias University, spectacle has a way of recurring.
As does scale. Consider its patents. Between 2017 and 2024, Galgotias University says it filed 2,430 patents. To put that in perspective: IIT Madras – widely regarded as the most research-intensive of the IITs – has filed about 2,550 patent applications since 1975, when it filed its first. In other words, nearly five decades of output from IIT Madras only marginally exceeds what Galgotias claims to have produced in seven years.
The numbers are staggering for a university trying to position itself as a flagship of private-sector higher education. Galgotias is frequently praised by top political leaders, including PM Narendra Modi in 2014 for “excellence” and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath on multiple occasions.
But behind these moments lies a more grounded question: who built this empire and how did it expand so rapidly, and why does it keep finding itself at the centre of spectacle?
‘Pre-independence’
The university claims to have over 25,000 students and “record-breaking” placements. It was ranked 43rd among top private and public universities across India by the QS World University Rankings 2026 while the official NIRF survey last placed it in the 151-200 band overall in 2024-2025.
Established in 2011, the university is run under the Delhi-based Shrimati Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society founded in 1998. It is part of the Galgotias Education Group, which includes several other institutes, and claims to be a pre-Independence group working since 1933. (The only publicly known pre-Independence connection seems to be the family bookstore E.D. Galgotia and Sons in Connaught Place that now stands shut.)
The university was set up by Suneel Galgotia, who has publicly aligned the institution with the political leadership’s vision in recent years, stating, “We remain committed to realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation and a global leader and Vishwa Guru, and to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s dream of establishing UP as a global knowledge superpower.”
A Delhi native and the university’s chancellor, Galgotia began his career in the family’s bookstore business and later shifted to publishing. He had studied at St Columba’s School and graduated in economics from Shri Ram College of Commerce in Delhi. He subsequently entered the education business in 2000 with the Galgotias Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT), then affiliated with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow. The same year, he founded the Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, which received AICTE approval and AKTU affiliation. Between 2007 and 2010, the group expanded with the Galgotias Business School (GBS), and in April 2011, its institutions were granted university status.
The land acquisition process for some of these campuses, however, ran into controversy.
The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority had acquired farmers’ land at low rates by invoking an “urgency” clause, and later allotted large parcels to private institutions at institutional rates. In 2011, the Allahabad High Court in the Gajraj case ordered 64.7 percent additional compensation for farmers in similar Noida and Greater Noida acquisitions, ruling that this urgency clause had been improperly applied. After these farmers received this benefit, the other YEIDA farmers demanded parity, and their agitation reportedly stalled projects across the region.
To resolve the issue, the Uttar Pradesh government issued a government order in 2014, and YEIDA passed a resolution offering farmers the same 64.7 percent additional compensation on the condition that they withdraw any pending litigation. The cost was to be recovered proportionally from allottees, including around Rs 12 crore demanded from the Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society. This was a small fraction of the total Rs 5,245 crore in question – the total amount to be recovered from all allottees, rather than Galgotias’ liability alone.
However, Galgotias challenged this demand, calling it a breach of contract, and the high court even quashed it in 2020. But in 2022, hearing YEIDA’s petition, the Supreme Court overturned the high court decision, upholding the policy as a public-interest measure. In 2024, the Allahabad High Court directed YEIDA to recalculate recovery amounts plot-wise. A legal dispute on the same is still pending before the Supreme Court, even as Galgotias University continues to operate on the allotted land.
The group’s rapid expansion was also funded through heavy borrowing — and that later led to legal trouble. Between 2000 and 2011, the Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society and related entities borrowed over Rs 100 crore from a private finance company, S E Investments Ltd, at very high interest rates of 20 to 26 percent. During the university’s expansion in 2011–12, it took another Rs 37.6 crore in unsecured loans at 26 percent interest. These loans were allegedly backed by post-dated cheques and personal guarantees from Suneel Galgotia, his wife Padmini, and son Dhruv.
When repayments stopped, the dispute turned into both civil and criminal cases.
An FIR was filed in Agra in September 2014, and Suneel’s wife Padmini Galgotia and son Dhruv Galgotia were arrested the following month, though the case was quashed as the court later said it was a civil matter. The case eventually went to arbitration. In 2017, the arbitrator told the group to repay the outstanding loan and interest, rejecting its claim that it was entitled to Rs 595 crore in damages. The Delhi High Court later reduced the future interest rate to 15 percent.
Shrimati Shakuntala Educational and Welfare Society is estimated to have Rs 374.9 crore in financial operating income in 2023 which increased to Rs 484.36 crore in 2024, as per credit rating agency Infomerics. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose from Rs 141.53 crore in 2023 to Rs 172.24 crore in 2024. Its net worth also increased from Rs 235.99 crore in 2023 to Rs 394.95 crore in 2024. Among its members are Suneel Galgotia, Padmini Galgotia and Dhruv Galgotia.
Public alignment
Institutional releases and social media posts show frequent engagement between the Galgotias leadership and senior BJP figures and the Sangh ecosystem.
In 2014, Galgotias University received an award presented by Narendra Modi, who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat, at the DQ Cybermedia awards in Delhi, recognising the institution for academic excellence and global linkages.
Over the years, the university’s founder and chancellor, Suneel Galgotia, has aligned the institute’s mission with the political vision of the BJP-led government. In public statements, he has praised Prime Minister Modi, declaring that Galgotias is “fully committed to fulfil PM Modi’s vision of making India a Vishwaguru,” framing the university’s role within the national push towards a “developed nation and global leader”. He has also spoken appreciatively of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, crediting his leadership with turning the state into an emerging hub for investment and higher education.
His son Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of the university, has echoed similar sentiments. Suneel Galgotia and Dhruv Galgotia were invited as select dignitaries to Modi’s swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Galgotias hosted leaders at conferences and academic programmes. UP minister Yogendra Upadhyaya has served as chief guest at an international academic event, while BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra has appeared at a convocation ceremony. Union HRD Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also delivered a keynote address at a National Innovation Workshop co-hosted by Galgotias University in August 2025 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, AICTE and the Innovation Cell.
The university has also engaged with organisations and platforms associated with the Sangh ecosystem. In November 2024, for example, Galgotias participated in VIVIBHA 2024 (Vision of Viksit Bharat), an event organised by the Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, an RSS affiliate working in the education sector. During the event, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat visited the university’s pavilion, which Galgotias noted had been named “Best Exhibitor”.
Galgotias University has positioned itself as a forerunner in aligning with BJP-led government initiatives, notably claiming to be “the first campus to implement 100% NEP 2020 in [the] true sense”. At a ceremony attended by then education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal, the university took an oath to implement a 12-step roadmap for the policy, which, among other things, includes the integration of ‘Indian knowledge systems’ into its curriculum.
To “walk the talk”, the group has also announced several dedicated hubs, such as the Galgotias Vivekananda Research Centre, the Atal Bihari Centre for Arts and Culture, and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Higher Quality Center for disadvantaged groups. Additionally, it plans to expand into adult education through the Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Shiksha Kendra in Uttarakhand and to establish a separate department for ‘value-based education’.
The university hosted the Smart India Hackathon 2024 on its campus, an event organised by the Ministry of Education. During the event, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha addressed students, and the Galgotias group announced 50 percent scholarships for J&K youth. However, current data on the actual number of beneficiaries remains unavailable.
During a 2022 UP Digi Shakti Yojna event, Dhruv Galgotia praised the “positive success” of digitisation under the current leadership, stating: “Under the leadership of our Prime Minister Modi and our Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, there has been a positive success towards digitising UP. Uttar Pradesh has become one of the digitally active states.” Galgotias University also distributed 72 tablets to students under the UP government's Digi Shakti scheme.
In July last year, Union Minister SP Singh Baghel announced that Dhruv Galgotia has been recommended for inclusion in Government of India advisory committees on higher education and sports, though there was no official confirmation of his appointment.
Senior RSS office-bearers have also appeared on campus, including Alok Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Sah-Prachar Pramukh, who spoke at Galgotias on community engagement and national development.
Newslaundry has reached out to the university and its owners. Their replies will be added to the story once they choose to respond.
Media blitz
In 2025, Galgotias University partnered with the India Today Group’s India Today Institute to launch a four-year BA (Hons) course in Digital Media and Communication.
Earlier this month, Dhruv Galgotia was featured as a speaker at the India Today Education Conclave in Delhi, and as far back as 2012, the university has served as a conclave partner for the India Today Conclave's branding and promotion.
Besides the India Today Group, the Republic Media Network hosted its inaugural ‘Republic Youth Summit’ in July 2024 at the varsity's campus in Greater Noida.
Despite the Chinese robodog fiasco earlier this week, just this morning, readers of Economic Times were greeted with a half-page ad about how the varsity is investing over Rs 350 crore in AI. For Galgotias, expansion has not just been about campuses and enrolment numbers, but about narrative-building. Whether through government stages, media platforms, or glossy supplements, the university has ensured that its growth story is seen as much as it is built. Has the latest episode dented that story? If past patterns are any indication, probably not. Visibility, after all, has been one of its most consistent assets.
With additional inputs from Astha Savyasachi.
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