Culture of the China Homework

1. Date: September 13, 2017 – September

15, 2017 2. Current Exchange Rate ($ / rupee):

1/64.16

3. During the past week (or since your last entry), what has been the major economic or

business news relating to

India? http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/economy-suffers-as-firms-tackle- debt/article19677814.ece In India this year, there are a fair amount of firms and businesses that are having issues paying off interest on their loans. On top of this, fewer loans are happening and the state’s GDP growth rate has lowered this year. The article lists several factors, one of which is pretty simple; interest rates are high at the moment. This article on business interested me because this is an issue that is relatable to every modernized country on Earth, how to pay off debt when you aren’t making enough this year to cover costs? You can’t, so the unpaid portions add up. I didn’t feel like there was a strong bias in this article, but I’m also not accustomed to the Indian financial market or its businesses. How is this story relevant to my understanding of India? It lets me take an inside look at the current economy and how they might be fairing in comparison. It also shows that business and banking policies are not that different on some levels.

4. During the past week (or since your last entry), what has been the major political

news in India? http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/patronising-congress- again-a-historic-necessity/article19679153.ece First, why do I consider this major political news in India? The discussions and accusations being talked about in the article are serious and can definitely effect votes for the mentioned political parties, which in turn can change or add new laws, regulations, taxes, and etc. The title seemed incredibly familiar to what we always see in American newspapers about our politics. I felt that the author, or maybe the newspaper, might actually lean more towards the BJP and TDP’s opposing forces. Other than that, there were tons of biased quotes from both parties. So, why do I think this topic is relevant to my understanding of India? Simply put, just as with business and banking, there is this kind of familiarity in a way. This article lets me get an inside view on the current parties and the accusations being made, showing me that politics is a somewhat universal language, one part attack ads, one part confusion, and one part progress.

5. What new information have you found related to religion in India?http://www.thehindu.com/society/faith/tendencies-of-

prakriti/article19656107.ece We talked a lot about how the culture of India and the religions of it can definitely be intertwined. This short article tells of the three ‘gunas’, which I didn’t know much about if anything really. As far as biases go, you could say that the article is biased to what it is teaching about this religious aspect, but honestly, it feels more informative. Why is this article relevant to my understanding of India? As stated in the beginning, India’s culture seems to be very intertwined with various religions and rules, so understanding one more of its teachings really adds to the overall picture.

6. During the past week (or since your last entry), what has been the major health news relating to

India? http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/health/2017/sep/12/aiims- develops-less-expensive-pocket-ventilator-in-collaboration-with-private-firm- 1656256.html Medical technology is one of my many interests and this new piece of equipment is, in some ways, a medical breakthrough for anyone having to stay on ventilators. These machines can be costly and need oxygen tanks to perform, so just the fact that the equipment can operate using natural air is impressive enough. This article was an informative one and there really weren’t any biases to speak of. This article is relevant to my understanding of India because it shows how much progress, education-wise, is being

experienced over there. R&D all over the place essentially backed by some very smart people. In other words, it helps me to understand where India might be at this very point in technological advancement.

7. During the past week (or since your last entry), what has been the major news story

regarding to the environment in India? http://www.hindustantimes.com/business- news/can-t-keep-changing-fuel-prices-on-knee-jerk-basis-gst-only-way-to-have- rational-mechanism-dharmendra-pradhan/story-1yaaYmX2dEEav3ZwUU9FQO.html Although not a new situation to anyone, it’s still an important one every time it happens. Fuel prices keep increasing in India, placing a liter at roughly 70 rupees. Back when gas prices here in the States shot up to something like four, five, or even six dollars, people became frustrated and especially worried about the near future cost of fuel. In this case, the increase in petrol and diesel prices is being attributed to the two recent hurricanes, Harvey and Irma for decreasing the global refining capacity. Also, the government is uncertain about stepping in again to assign prices not based on the international price at the moment. So, how is this article relevant to my understanding of India? It’s more of a global understanding, in that this is an issue which is completely relatable no matter if you live in India or the U.S. It shows me that the people and government share similar concerns in the fuel economy.

8. During the past week (or since your last journal entry), what other news story did you find interesting? http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41239283 This article was particularly interesting because freedom of speech is held so high here in the states and in quite a few modern MDC’s around the world. When I hear about journalists getting killed or disappearing in any country, my first thought is, “Who or what did they speak against or in favor of?” BBC is a pretty reliable, and at times decently unbiased, news source when it comes to learning about events throughout the world. Why do I think this story is relevant to my understanding of India? It helps me to understand the possible limits to freedom of speech in India and the ideas that some feel shouldn’t be spoken, especially when it’s against the current administration. Just a thought, I don’t really hear of India being an unsafe place for journalists, but maybe because it’s just not reported on a wide scale very well; this is similar to what you hear about coming out of Russia.

9. Temperature in Bombay: 83*F 10. Temperature in New Delhi: 84*F