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…𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝑽𝒆𝒈-𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕, 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑶𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 (𝑫𝒐𝑨). Susmika SubbaIn a significant acknowledgment of Bhutan’s strides in agriculture and rural development, the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation and Initiatives (AFACI) conferred the Most Outstanding Country Award for 2023 upon the nation on December 26, 2023. The Rural Development …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔, 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 Sonam Deki A significant number of private sector employees working in hotels, restaurants, cafes, and shops have expressed dissatisfaction over what they perceive as a lack of public holidays, highlighting disparities compared to …

In Bhutan, a concerning trend is quietly taking root, threatening the very essence of its fledgling democracy. Whispers of a growing symbiotic relationship between certain media outlets and political parties have begun to circulate, raising questions about the integrity of both pillars that form the backbone of any democratic society. This unholy matrimony between politics and media, if left unchecked, …

…𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒅𝒆 Krishna Kumar SanyasiThe recent notification from Thimphu Thromde has caused dissatisfaction among vegetable vendors and wholesalers. The regulations, intended to alleviate parking congestion and enhance sales at the Centenary Farmers’ Market (CFM), have left …

…𝑷𝑫𝑷 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝑻𝑷 𝑼𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒍 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒊𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍, 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆-𝑬𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏 Editorial Team In a recent public debate held on December 28, candidates from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Bhutan Tendrel Party (BTP), both contesting from the Nanong_Shumar constituency in Pemagatshel, expressed their intentions to explore the feasibility …

…𝑨 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑬𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 In the serene landscapes of Bhutan, where lush green fields and vibrant crops have been synonymous with its agricultural identity, a shifting narrative is unfolding. Over the past few years, Bhutan’s domestic sufficiency in a key commodity has experienced a substantial decline, plummeting from 90% in 2019-2020 to a concerning 65% …

…𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam DekiOver the four-year period from 2019-2020 to 2022-2023, a declining trend in the domestic production of agricultural products is evident, dropping from 47,828 metric tons to 26,261 metric tons. Concurrently, imports have steadily increased from 8,847 metric tons to 16,140 metric tons. Consequently, the sufficiency percentage, representing the ability …

…𝘾𝘾𝘼𝘼 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙪. 33,235 𝙤𝙣 35 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 By Phurpa WangmoIn a 15-day market surveillance operation initiated on December 4, 2023, the Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (CCAA) collaborated with officials from the Bhutan Food and Drug Authority (BFDA) and the Bhutan Standards Bureau (BSB) to assess compliance by businesses …

Bhutan, where the pursuit of happiness is a national mantra, a recent glimpse into the challenges faced by retirees prompts a thoughtful examination of policies affecting their twilight years. Retirement, traditionally synonymous with relaxation and independence, unveils a more complex narrative marked by financial strains and emotional solitude.The government’s laudable 2002 initiative aimed to secure a stable financial future for …

…𝑨𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑺𝑨𝑹, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚’𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 Susmika Subba & Sonam DekiOn December 17, 2023, commemorating Bhutan’s 116th National Day, His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck unveiled an ambitious vision to transform …