National News

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝑫𝑷 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒖𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaSouth Asia’s economic growth is slowing. The World Bank’s April 2025 South Asia Development Update projects regional growth to slip to 5.8 percent this year before recovering in 2026. Rising debt burdens, global uncertainty, and financial market volatility are creating challenges across the region. Bhutan is …

…𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝑪𝑻 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoThe civil service is experiencing a significant wave of attrition, with over 2,300 employees leaving the system in the 2024–2025 reporting period, raising concerns over a potential brain drain in sectors critical to national development. Data from the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) indicate that 2,377 civil …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒚𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒔, 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaWhile Bhutan’s GDP is projected to grow 8.55% in 2025, the latest Macroeconomic Situation Report reveals deeper challenges, including a widening fiscal deficit, rising debt, and external sector vulnerabilities. Hydropower remains the primary growth engine, but delays in major projects and dependence on borrowing create …

By Sonam ChokiPhuentsholing Phuentsholing Thromde is on track to achieve zero solid waste by January 2026 with the completion and operation of the Solid Waste Treatment Yard (SWTY), part of the Phuentsholing Township Development Project (PTDP). Developed under a Design, Build and Operate model at a total cost of Nu. 104,475,000, the yard spans approximately 6,790 square metres, including dedicated …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 30-𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒐-𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 By Tashi Tshewang The Sukreti Culvert Bridge, a development under the Small Development Project (SDP-I), was officially inaugurated on September 3, 2025, in Samtse Gewog by D.N. Dhungyel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. This reinforced concrete multi-cell box culvert, stretching over …

…𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 By Kezang Choden Gangteys’ waste management has seen significant improvement as Desuups deployed by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) carry out clean-up operations under a national initiative. The team recently received a virtual briefing from the PMO and the Ministry of Industry, …

…𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 By Yeshi Dolma On a crisp autumn morning in the capital, 32-year-old Pema Wangmo weaves her way through the Centenary Farmers’ Market. A university-educated marketing professional, she represents the rising middle class in the city. Like many women her age, she has chosen to stop at one child. …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒔𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 By KinzangLhamo Balakhop, a village of about 90 households in Tashiling Maed under Semjong gewog, Tsirang, has overcome years of water scarcity and declining farmland through innovative nature-based solutions. Once known for steep slopes, poor soils, and drying water sources, the community now has reliable water, stabilized farmland, and improved agricultural …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍-𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝑨𝑰 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 By Kezang Choden The Royal Society for Protection of Nature (RSPN) Bhutan has introduced advanced technology to enhance its efforts in conserving the endangered White-bellied Heron (WBH) and associated species. Traditional field monitoring is now complemented by drones, camera traps, CCTV cameras, remote sensing, GIS, GPS, and telemetry. The …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘-𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Leki ChungdonResidents of Dorokha Dungkhag in Samtse Dzongkhag continue to grapple with a chronic fuel shortage that has persisted for years, disrupting lives and livelihoods despite repeated appeals for intervention. The only petroleum outlet in Basantay, which caters not only to Dorokha but also to Dumtoe, …