…𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) is hosting the first Regional AI Training on Cryosphere Research, a five-day programme bringing together participants from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. Conducted in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the training forms part …

…𝑮𝑫𝑷 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒚 5.31 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 By Sonam Choden The country’s economy continued to expand in the third quarter of 2025, though at a slower pace compared to the same period last year, according to the Quarterly National Accounts Statistics Bulletin released by the National Statistics Bureau (NSB). Gross Domestic Product …

Access to credit lies at the heart of a nation’s economic vitality. It shapes the prospects of businesses, farmers, and households, enabling them to invest, innovate, and secure livelihoods. Yet, the mere existence of banks and lending institutions does not guarantee that financial services reach all segments of society equitably. Structural gaps, inconsistencies in valuation frameworks, and operational disparities often …

…𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has flagged widespread shortcomings in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities and services, citing weak standards, poor maintenance and limited coordination as key concerns.Presenting the Committee’s Review Report in the National Assembly on the Performance Audit of WASH …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam ChodenThe country’s financial sector is undergoing a pivotal reform as the National Assembly’s Economic and Finance Committee (EFC) released its review report on bank interest rates and land valuation practices affecting public access to credit. The report presents a clear picture of progress alongside continuing gaps, highlighting the need …

…𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Lhendup WangmoSamtse is emerging as one of the country’s fastest-changing industrial centres. Expanding factories, mines and manufacturing units are reshaping the dzongkhag, generating new employment opportunities and contributing to national revenue. At the same time, the pace of industrial growth has raised concerns …

…𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoThe health ealthcare system is under increasing pressure from acute human resource shortages, rising patient referral costs, and persistent infrastructure gaps, according to the Review Report on the Healthcare System in Bhutan presented by the Economic Affairs Committee (EAC) during the National Council’s …

…𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaOn an ordinary evening in the capital, music drifts from cafés, taxis, and family gatherings. For decades, these sounds have been shared freely, passed from cassette to CD to memory card, without much thought about who made them …

…𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 By Tashi Tshewang The Royal Textile Academy (RTA) has launched a month-long Weaver’s Exchange Program with Pemaling in Samtse, bringing together weavers from two communities in a structured initiative aimed at preserving Bhutan’s traditional textile heritage through hands-on knowledge transfer. Funded by the William H. …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒔 By Leki Chungdon Bhutan exported a total of 31,869.7 metric tonnes of fresh agricultural produce over the past 11 months, reflecting steady performance across key commodities and sustained demand in regional and international markets. The exports were supported by improved traceability systems, strengthened institutional coordination, and expanding market access, according …