Technology

Big U-turn on Rs 25,000 crore deal, now big AI project will not happen? Government took sudden decision

By Samira Vishwas

Puch AI controversy: Uttar Pradesh Government Artificial Intelligence Startup Pooch AI The MoU worth Rs 25,000 crore made with has been canceled. The government says that the company could not provide the necessary documents for this project on time, due to which this strict step had to be taken. This decision has come at a time when questions were already being raised on social media and political circles regarding this deal.

Chaos on social media, big questions raised

Actually, the whole matter started when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced this deal on X. He had written that an MoU worth Rs 25 thousand crore is being made for AI initiatives in the state. But as soon as people gathered information about Puch AI, shocking facts came to light. This startup is just one year old and its revenue is reported to be less than Rs 50 lakh. After this, questions began to arise as to why such a big deal was being given to a small and inexperienced company.

“This is just an announcement”Yogi had to give clarification

As the controversy escalated, the Chief Minister himself had to come forward and give clarification. Posting on X, he said, ‘This is just an announcement and the agreement has not been reached yet. The deal will be done only when the company meets every parameter” Despite this, the controversy did not seem to stop and the matter became more heated.

What came out in the investigation? Why was the deal canceled

In the statement issued by the government, it was said that this MoU, signed on March 23, 2026, was reviewed as per the process. During this time, financial details and necessary documents were asked from the company, but they were not submitted on time. Due diligence also revealed that the company does not have sufficient net worth and strong financial backup to complete such a big project. After this, it was announced from the X handle of InvestUP that this MoU is now being cancelled.

Opposition’s attack: Akhilesh Yadav raised questions

Akhilesh Yadav also cornered the government on this issue. He said that making such a big deal with such a small company raises questions on the credibility of the government. Even on social media, users kept raising questions on the company’s capability and the government’s decision.

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Puch AI’s side: “Government money was not to be spent”

Amidst the controversy, Puch AI co-founder Siddharth Bhatia clarified, ‘This project was based on public-private partnership model and government money was not to be used in it.’ He also said that the investment was to be done in a phased manner and external investors would have a role in it.

Dream of AI project incomplete

Under this deal, there was a plan to create AI park, large data center, AI commons platform and AI university in Uttar Pradesh. This was being considered a big step towards making the state a technology hub. However, after controversy and investigation, this big project has been put on hold for the time being.

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