National News

…𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 955 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang and Yeshi Dolma The national effort to streamline regulations and improve the ease of doing business marked another important step this week as the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment and the Cabinet Secretariat convened a high-level Business Regulatory Stakeholder Meeting in …

…𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 By Kezang Choden The Department of Tourism (DoT) has reported a steady rise in village homestays across the country, reflecting growing interest in rural tourism and community-based hospitality. According to official records, the country had 146 certified homestays in 2024, increasing to 165 this year. The growth …

…𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒆 By Leki Chungdon The Ministry of Health inaugurated the National Center for Traditional Medicine Services (NCTMS) and launched the National Traditional Medicine Strategy and Action Plan (2025 to 2034), marking a major milestone for Bhutan’s traditional medicine system. The event also included the signing of a Nu. 44 …

…𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 By Sonam Choden During the Fourth Session of the Fourth Parliament, Kamal Bdr. Gurung, Member of Parliament, raised public concerns over reports suggesting a proposed national highway bypass that would divert traffic away from Damphu town in Tsirang. The question stemmed from growing speculation and community discussions …

Pema, Phuentsholing The country currently stands at a critical juncture. In recent years, notable progress has been made in reducing poverty, improving access to basic services, and raising living standards. These achievements are commendable and reflect a sustained effort to improve the quality of life for citizens. However, beneath these positive developments lies a growing concern. Jobs remain limited, economic …

The announcement of a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) marks a significant milestone in the nation’s economic development. A major policy shift of this scale inevitably provokes discussion and debate, reflecting the tensions between reform and public perception. While the rationale for a unified tax system is compelling, its success will depend not only on policy design but also …

…𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏, 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 By Yeshi DolmaAccess to justice remains a cornerstone of a functioning society, ensuring that citizens’ rights are protected and that social cohesion is maintained. Legal aid, in particular, plays a pivotal role in supporting vulnerable groups who may otherwise struggle …

…𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚-𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒑𝒔 By Kezang ChodenThe government will soon roll out the Bhutan Entrepreneurship Program and the Bhutan Entrepreneur Fund, two major national initiatives backed by more than Nu 4 billion in initial funding. The announcement was made by Lyonpo Namgyal Dorji during the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025, observed under …

…𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 By Kinzang LhamoThe government’s pledge to cut mobile data charges in the country by 50 percent, one of the most anticipated promises of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) manifesto, remains stalled more than four months after the earlier implementation date of July 1, 2025. Despite repeated public assurances, intensive review processes, …

…𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 5% 𝒕𝒂𝒙 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 2026 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒕 By KinzangLhamoThe country is set to implement the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in January 2026, introducing a uniform 5 percent tax on most goods and services. While the government says the reform will create a fairer, more transparent, and efficient …