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Former Ambassador to India Richard Verma Discusses Past and Present U.S.-India Ties

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In the inaugural lecture at the newly founded Cornell India Law Center, former U.S. ambassador to India Richard Verma spoke about India’s increasing relevance in international affairs, the evolution of U.S.-India ties and the importance of learning from the history between the two nations. The lecture, which took place on Thursday, was the first in a series hosted by the Cornell India Law Center in the law school, which seeks to provide Cornell law students with the opportunity to study Indian law as well as obtain a more in-depth understanding and connection with India through a variety of programs, including speaker series, summer internships in New Delhi and a dual-degree program with Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India. According to Verma, by 2030 “India will lead the world in almost every category.” But while India’s strategic location and its position as a democracy “in a tough part of the world” make it an important ally, the country still faces many “risk factors” such as significant climate risks, governance issues across the country, and for many of its citizens, a lack of access to clean water and electricity. “When you go to India, you can feel the excitement, you can feel the energy. People know that this is an exciting time.” Verma said.

professional fraternities

Professional Fraternity Council Holds Recruitment Fair

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The newly-formed Professional Fraternity Council held a recruitment fair in Baker Portico on Sunday, an opportunity for prospective members to get to know nine of the campus’s 11 pre-professional fraternities. According to Kumar Nandanampati ’20, vice president of recruitment for PFC, the driving force behind the showcase was simple. “What can we do to make recruitment fair?”

The fair’s main goal was to present the fraternities in an “egalitarian manner,” according to Nandanampati. Attendees were encouraged to walk around and interact with current members and leaders from each organization. The timing of the event was early in the semester, Nandanampati said, so that potential new members could familiarize themselves with all pre-professional organizations before any specific rush process began.

blockchain

Cornell Law Professor Advocates for More Regulations on Financial Technology

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More than 10 years have passed since the global financial crisis broke out, and the financial institutions’ ability to rethink and sophisticate their business has been growing relentlessly. Prof. Saule T. Omarova, law, argues in her latest work that while we are now more cognizant of, and to an extent protected from, the risk in some financial products, the financial system could be ill-equipped for the latest technological innovations in finance, otherwise known as fintech. In her research paper, New Tech v. New Deal: Fintech As A Systemic Phenomenon she suggests that the fintech revolution can’t be as neutral as some actors pretend, because finance is “a matter of utmost and direct public policy significance.”

Omarova writes in New Tech v. New Deal that if we blur the public policy dimension in fintech, and grasp only the private dimension of how it enables transactions, we misrepresent its systemic risk. By doing so, she warns, we help new financial and tech conglomerates avoid financial regulation and circumvent the fundamental separation between banking and commerce, giving them a carte blanche to engage in riskier activities for consumers. This reflection is at the very core of Omarova’s pro-regulation stance, made clear throughout her research work and more recently in her testimony before the Senate two weeks ago.