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Pema Samdrup is a seasoned Senior Instructor at the Royal Academy of Performing Arts (RAPA), where his journey began as a trainee in 1996. After completing his training, he worked as an artist and Junior Instructor before stepping into his current role. With deep expertise in traditional Bhutanese music and mask dance, Pema holds National Certificates II & III in …

…𝒂 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍-𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆, 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoSchool feeding programs are undergoing a transformative shift with the introduction of quinoa- a highly nutritious, climate-resilient grain-into student diets. The initiative marks a collaborative effort between the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Cooperatives …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝑵𝑹 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈-𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚 By Kezang Choden The College of Natural Resources (CNR) under the Royal University of Bhutan has inaugurated the country’s first environmental DNA (eDNA) laboratory, a significant milestone in biodiversity research and conservation. Developed through a collaboration involving ETH Zurich, the Department of Forests …

…𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 By Kezang Choden Bhutan is projected to lead South Asia in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2025, according to recent economic forecasts. The country is expected to rank second after India in 2026, reflecting its strong economic momentum. South Asia is poised to remain the fastest-growing sub-region, driven …

…𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 By Kinzang Lhamo In a major development for Bhutan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape, Mountain Hazelnuts and the European Union (EU) marked a milestone USD 7.9 million equity investment on April 22, 2025. The funding, led by Mirova and Finnfund, is backed by the EU’s European Fund …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓-𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 By Kinzang Lhamo Water scarcity has long posed a significant challenge to the agricultural community in Bali Chiwog, Punakha. Despite the area’s fertile land, the lack of reliable and consistent irrigation has left a large portion of farmland uncultivated. Farmers have struggled to grow crops throughout …

…𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 By Kezang Choden The Good Governance Committee (GGC) held a stakeholder consultation with officials from the Royal Insurance Corporation of Bhutan Limited (RICBL) to discuss the Rural Life Insurance Scheme. During the meeting, RICBL provided a detailed overview of the scheme’s current operations. The presentation addressed key …

By Sonam Choden The preservation and promotion of traditional Bhutanese art forms remain central to the nation’s cultural heritage initiatives, reflecting a deep respect for ancestral craftsmanship and a commitment to nurturing creativity within established cultural values. A key platform that continues to highlight these efforts is the National Design and Art Competition (NDAC), an annual event that brings together …

…𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 By Tashi Tshewang Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are widely recognized as vital drivers of economic diversification and employment generation in Bhutan. Despite their potential, SMEs face significant challenges in accessing formal credit, primarily due to the banking sector’s stringent collateral requirements. Banks typically demand fixed, tangible assets …

…𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆 By Yeshi Dolma Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a global condition affecting millions of children and adults, and Bhutan is no exception. With the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that about one in 100 children are diagnosed with autism worldwide, Bhutan has made significant strides in raising awareness, …