National News

…𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo Inflation in the nation rose to 3.55 percent in November 2025, driven by continued increases in both food and non-food prices, the National Statistics Bureau (NSB) reported. The average inflation from January through November stood at 3.53 percent, signaling persistent price pressures across the country. “Prices rose …

…𝑹𝑨𝑨 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 By Yeshi Dolma While the Annual Audit Report 2024–25 reveals substantial financial irregularities that have raised concerns about governance standards across Bhutan’s public sector, the document also presents a more encouraging story of institutional effectiveness. The Royal Audit Authority (RAA) facilitated total recoveries of Nu. …

…𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓 2024-25 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝑷𝑯𝑷𝑨-𝑰𝑰 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaIn one of the most comprehensive assessments of Bhutan’s public financial governance in recent years, the Royal Audit Authority (RAA) has reported a sharp increase in financial irregularities, raising serious questions about systemic weaknesses in public financial management. …

…𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒂𝒙, 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 By Leki Chungdon  Gewog officials in Gakiling Gewog, Haa, have been conducting door to door visits across allchiwogs to deliver essential public services directly to households, ensuring timely and inclusiveaccess, particularly for residents living in remote areas. During the visits, officials processed land tax …

…𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒚 By Kezang Choden The Samdrup Jongkhar Dzongkhag Administration, in collaboration with the Department of Tourism (DoT) under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment, will conduct a Tourism Sector Sensitization and Capacity Building Workshop in Samdrup Jongkhar to strengthen preparedness among local tourism stakeholders amid …

…𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚’𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 By Sonam Choden From its inception, the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) volunteer initiative has emerged as one of the country’s most inspiring national movements, bringing together citizens across generations, professions, and regions in service to His Majesty the King’s vision for a mindful …

…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 …