National News

…𝒇𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) has announced the results of the Bhutan Civil Service Examination (BCSE) 2025, with 1,724 candidates successfully qualifying for the merit list from a record 5,035 registrations. The examination, considered the gateway to the nation’s civil service, …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚, 𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. By Sonam Choden The closure of Bhutan Development Bank Limited’s gewog offices has raised significant concern among rural communities that rely on the bank for essential financial services. The issue was brought to the floor of the Fourth …

…𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoBhutan’s decision to align its education system with international standard has prompted discussions on how these reforms may affect language, traditions and cultural values. The concern was raised in the National Assembly by the Member of Parliament from the Gelephu constituency, who asked whether …

…𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoA total of 7,520 mothers across the nation have benefited from the Accelerating Maternal and Child Health Program (AMCHP), also known as the 1,000 Golden Days Initiative. However, inconsistencies in the program’s cash transfer system have raised concerns among beneficiaries and lawmakers. During …

…𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 13𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 By Sonam ChodenDuring the ongoing parliamentary session, Rinchen Wangdi, Member of Parliament from Bartsham-Shongphu constituency, raised concerns over the transparency, utilization, and monitoring of major government funds under the 13th Five Year Plan (FYP), focusing particularly on contributions from the Government of …

…𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 By Yeshi DolmaIn the Fourth Session of the Fourth Parliament, the nation confronted a stark reality: corruption remains a persistent obstacle, quietly undermining public trust, governance, and socio-economic resilience. The National Council’s Good Governance Committee (GGC) presented its Review Report on the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) …

…𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi Tshewang The National Khuru Tournament 2025 is currently underway at Changbangdru, Thimphu, with 21 gewog-based teams from across Bhutan competing in one of the nation’s traditional sporting events. Organized by the Bhutan Indigenous Games and Sports Association (BIGSA), the tournament officially commenced on November 24 and …

…𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 By Yeshi Dolma The government has unveiled the revised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Rules and Regulations 2025, marking a significant step toward enhancing the nation’s appeal to foreign investors. The move reflects a deliberate strategy to address longstanding barriers to investment, improve regulatory clarity, and simplify the process for international businesses …

…𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔-𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 By Leki Chungdon A two-day training on smart agriculture techniques was carried out last week in Gangkha and Gibsa villages under Khebisa Gewog, equipping local farmers with practical tools to strengthen climate resilience and improve soil health. The programme, organised with support from the Gewog’s …

…𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉, 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂-𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The restoration of the Thimphu Basketball Center has transformed Bhutan’s oldest indoor basketball facility into one of the country’s most inclusive and accessibility-focused sporting spaces, introducing modern upgrades that expand opportunities for youth, national athletes, and para-athletes. Inaugurated on November 25 in the presence …