Article

…𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚, 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 Bhutan, once known primarily for its Gross National Happiness, has become a global benchmark for trust, strength, and mindful development. Today, delegates from around the world visit Gelephu, now known as the Mindfulness City, to study Bhutan’s pioneering Trust Economy. Corporations seek Bhutanese expertise to restore …

…𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo Bhutan’s tourism sector, guided by the country’s “High Value, Low Volume” policy, is at a transformative stage with the launch of the Bhutan Integrated Tourism Master Plan 2025-2034. Tourism has long been a vital pillar of Bhutan’s socio-economic development, contributing to foreign exchange earnings, job creation, and …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏’𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 By Sonam Choden Bhutan has made significant progress in child nutrition over the past decade, yet new evidence shows persistent and evolving risks that could affect long-term development. According to UNICEF’s global report, Feeding Profit: How Food Environments are Failing Children, the prevalence …

…𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaTourism sector appears to be thriving on the surface. Official government data for the second quarter of 2025 shows a 145 percent increase in tourist arrivals compared to the first quarter, with total arrivals reaching 67,019. Revenue to the state more than doubled to USD 12.27 …

…𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐, 𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚’𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 By Kezang ChodenAccording to the Market Information and Research Division (MIRD), Department of Agriculture Marketing and Cooperation (DAMC), Bhutan exported more than 20,652 metric tonnes of primary agricultural produce between January and August 2025. Potato, orange, and ginger emerged as the leading export commodities.Potato topped the chart with 10,144.6 metric tonnes, …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝑫𝑷 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaSouth Asia’s economic growth is slowing. The World Bank’s April 2025 South Asia Development Update projects regional growth to slip to 5.8 percent this year before recovering in 2026. Rising debt burdens, global uncertainty, and financial market volatility are creating challenges across the region. Bhutan is …

…𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝑪𝑻 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoThe civil service is experiencing a significant wave of attrition, with over 2,300 employees leaving the system in the 2024–2025 reporting period, raising concerns over a potential brain drain in sectors critical to national development. Data from the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) indicate that 2,377 civil …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaWhile Bhutan’s GDP is projected to grow 8.55% in 2025, the latest Macroeconomic Situation Report reveals deeper challenges, including a widening fiscal deficit, rising debt, and external sector vulnerabilities. Hydropower remains the primary growth engine, but delays in major projects and dependence on borrowing create …

By Sonam ChokiPhuentsholing Phuentsholing Thromde is on track to achieve zero solid waste by January 2026 with the completion and operation of the Solid Waste Treatment Yard (SWTY), part of the Phuentsholing Township Development Project (PTDP). Developed under a Design, Build and Operate model at a total cost of Nu. 104,475,000, the yard spans approximately 6,790 square metres, including dedicated …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 30-𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒐-𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 By Tashi Tshewang The Sukreti Culvert Bridge, a development under the Small Development Project (SDP-I), was officially inaugurated on September 3, 2025, in Samtse Gewog by D.N. Dhungyel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. This reinforced concrete multi-cell box culvert, stretching over …