National News

By Sonam Choden Agriculture remains the fundamental basis of rural livelihoods in eastern parts of the country where challenging topography, limited access to irrigation, and frequent human-wildlife conflicts have historically constrained agricultural productivity. In recognition of these enduring challenges, the Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihoods Enhancement Programme (CARLEP) has initiated targeted land management interventions aimed at transitioning subsistence farming towards …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒏, 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Kinzang Lhamo The sanitation infrastructure in the capital has come under renewed scrutiny following the release of the country’s first-ever Public Toilet Assessment. The report surveyed 44 public toilet facilities across the capital, including 16 market toilets, 21 public facility toilets, and seven located in transit areas. …

…𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍𝒔 By Sonam ChodenThimphu The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) of Bhutan is strengthening its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system through international collaborations aimed at improving quality, sustainability, and institutional capacity. With an increasing need for skilled professionals and the goal of …

Tshering, Thimphu Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved beyond being a futuristic idea; it is now a central force shaping societies, economies, and governance around the world. Its potential to transform industries, improve efficiencies, and drive innovation is immense. Yet, AI also poses significant risks, especially for developing countries like Bhutan, where digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks are still evolving. As …

…𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒚𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi Tshewang Paro College of Education, led by Tashi Wangmo, conducted a month-long summer engagement for teacher trainees and community volunteers from June 8 to July 8. The program featured workshops in traditional crafts such as weaving, tailoring, and natural dyeing. It brought together 15 …

…𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒕-𝒂𝒏𝒅-𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 By Kezang Choden The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) has expressed growing concern over the increasing number of vehicle-pedestrian collisions and hit-and-run incidents in the country. These accidents endanger public safety and highlight the need for stronger enforcement of traffic rules and greater public awareness. According to official …

…𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 41 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Yeshi DolmaThe nation’s agriculture sector tells a story of quiet toil, of garlic fields stretching across Bumthang, turmeric roots pulled from Pemagatshel hills, and dairy cattle grazing in the valleys of Tsirang. It is a sector that employs 41 percent of the population, making it …

Agriculture has long been considered the backbone of many economies in the Global South. In countries where a significant portion of the population relies on farming for livelihood, the sector carries not only economic but also cultural and social weight. Yet, when a sector that employs the largest share of the national workforce contributes minimally to the Gross Domestic Product, …

…𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒊𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Sonam Choden The Department of Livestock has completed the first phase of training for the new Pig and Poultry Farm Registration System (FRS). This marks an important step toward the nationwide rollout of a digital platform aimed at formalizing and improving the management of livestock …

…𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔, 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 By Kinzang LhamoEvery monsoon, residents of Getana and Bongo Gewogs in Chukha face dangerous challenges when roads are blocked or washed away, cutting them off from basic services. The absence of permanent bridges, especially at key points like Badina, …