The announcement of a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) marks a significant milestone in the nation’s economic development. A major policy shift of this scale inevitably provokes discussion and debate, reflecting the tensions between reform and public perception. While the rationale for a unified tax system is compelling, its success will depend not only on policy design but also …

…𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 By Yeshi DolmaAccess to justice remains a cornerstone of a functioning society, ensuring that citizens’ rights are protected and that social cohesion is maintained. Legal aid, in particular, plays a pivotal role in supporting vulnerable groups who may otherwise struggle …

…𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚-𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒔 By Kezang ChodenThe government will soon roll out the Bhutan Entrepreneurship Program and the Bhutan Entrepreneur Fund, two major national initiatives backed by more than Nu 4 billion in initial funding. The announcement was made by Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji during the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025, observed under …

…𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 By Kinzang LhamoThe government’s pledge to cut mobile data charges in the country by 50 percent, one of the most anticipated promises of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) manifesto, remains stalled more than four months after the earlier implementation date of July 1, 2025. Despite repeated public assurances, intensive review processes, …

…𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 5% 𝒕𝒂𝒙 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 2026 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒕 By KinzangLhamoThe country is set to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in January 2026, introducing a uniform 5 percent tax on most goods and services. While the government says the reform will create a fairer, more transparent, and efficient …

…𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) has announced the results of the Bhutan Civil Service Examination (BCSE) 2025, with 1,724 candidates successfully qualifying for the merit list from a record 5,035 registrations. The examination, considered the gateway to the nation’s civil service, …

…𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔-𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒄𝒐-𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 By Tashi Tshewang The Bhutan Glory Wildlife Trail (BGWT), initiated by the Dzongkhag Administration of Trashigang, is emerging as a unique “green classroom,” blending biodiversity education with ecotourism development. Nestled in an ecologically rich landscape, the trail is home to both Ludlow’s Bhutan Glory, Bhutan’s national butterfly, …

…𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂-𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The restoration of the Thimphu Basketball Center has transformed Bhutan’s oldest indoor basketball facility into one of the country’s most inclusive and accessibility-focused sporting spaces, introducing modern upgrades that expand opportunities for youth, national athletes, and para-athletes. Inaugurated on November 25 in the presence …

…𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi Tshewang The National Khuru Tournament 2025 is currently underway at Changbangdru, Thimphu, with 19 gewog-based teams from across Bhutan competing in one of the nation’s traditional sporting events. Organized by the Bhutan Indigenous Games and Sports Association (BIGSA), the tournament officially commenced on November 24 and …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Kezang Choden Gyalsup Ugyen Dorji, who is undergoing skilling training under the Gyalsung Skilling Program (GSP) in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) at the Jigme Wangchuck Power Training Institute (JWPTI) in Gelephu, has been …