National News

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam ChodenThe country’s financial sector is undergoing a pivotal reform as the National Assembly’s Economic and Finance Committee (EFC) released its review report on bank interest rates and land valuation practices affecting public access to credit. The report presents a clear picture of progress alongside continuing gaps, highlighting the need …

…𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Lhendup WangmoSamtse is emerging as one of the country’s fastest-changing industrial centres. Expanding factories, mines and manufacturing units are reshaping the dzongkhag, generating new employment opportunities and contributing to national revenue. At the same time, the pace of industrial growth has raised concerns …

…𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoThe health ealthcare system is under increasing pressure from acute human resource shortages, rising patient referral costs, and persistent infrastructure gaps, according to the Review Report on the Healthcare System in Bhutan presented by the Economic Affairs Committee (EAC) during the National Council’s …

…𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaOn an ordinary evening in the capital, music drifts from cafés, taxis, and family gatherings. For decades, these sounds have been shared freely, passed from cassette to CD to memory card, without much thought about who made them …

…𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 By Tashi Tshewang The Royal Textile Academy (RTA) has launched a month-long Weaver’s Exchange Program with Pemaling in Samtse, bringing together weavers from two communities in a structured initiative aimed at preserving Bhutan’s traditional textile heritage through hands-on knowledge transfer. Funded by the William H. …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒉𝒚𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒔 By Leki Chungdon Bhutan exported a total of 31,869.7 metric tonnes of fresh agricultural produce over the past 11 months, reflecting steady performance across key commodities and sustained demand in regional and international markets. The exports were supported by improved traceability systems, strengthened institutional coordination, and expanding market access, according …

…𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒂𝒑 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Sonam Choden In the hills of Baeyul Kunzang, the sound of flowing water has become rare. What was once a dependable daily presence now arrives as faint trickles through ageing pipes, often for short and uncertain periods. For years, the 82 household community has struggled with dwindling …

…𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆-𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Leki Chungdon 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 …

…𝑹𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒋𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒚’𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒆 Sonam Choki, Thimphu There are moments in a nation’s life when words do more than describe a future; they summon it. His Majesty The King’s address on the 118th National Day was one such moment. Spoken from Wangduechhoeling Palace in sacred Bumthang, the address rose above …

…𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒐 𝑱𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒆 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒈𝒚𝒂𝒍 By Tashi Tshewang The President’s Cup 2025 concluded on December 17 after ten days of competitive basketball, bringing together teams from across the country in a tournament that combined sporting excellence with remembrance. Held under the theme “One Team, One Dream,” the event was dedicated …