National News

…𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔, 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaSince the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on January 1, ordinary citizens and businesses across the nation have faced widespread confusion over which services are taxed and which are exempt. Concerns about double taxation, proper receipts, and compliance obligations prompted …

…𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒇𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaThimphu has emerged as the dzongkhag with the highest number of reported sexual offence cases in the country, according to official police data, raising serious concerns among citizens about safety in both physical and digital spaces. Records show that reported …

…𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒕 By Sonam ChodenThe implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which was rolled out on January 1, 2026, has generated a range of public responses, particularly around how the tax is being applied in everyday transactions. While the reform is intended to establish a more …

…𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒃 𝒊𝒏 2025, 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚’𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 By Kezang ChodenBhutan recorded 18,404 tourist arrivals in December 2025, an increase of 4,690 visitors compared to the same month in 2024, according to the Monthly Tourism Bulletin released by the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment. The latest …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒚 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 By Tenzin Syelden Dorji The market shed constructed at Suntalakha Chewog was inaugurated on December 23, 2025, and has since been benefiting residents of Geling Gewog and neighbouring Gewogs by improving access to markets for local agricultural and livestock …

…324 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝑷𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 10𝒙 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam ChodenBhutan has entered a new chapter in its national service framework with the graduation of the first cohort of Pelsups- 324 youth who completed an intensive three-month training at the developing Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC). The Pelsung Programme, introduced by His Majesty the …

…𝑮𝑬𝑭 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang A US$37,000 grant under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)–Small Grants Programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Royal Government of Bhutan, has enabled the Panbang Youth Cooperative (PYC) to play a central role in expanding coffee cultivation in …

…𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Kezang ChodenExempting essential goods such as animal feed from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) could provide significant relief to farmers and consumers, as feed prices remain high and continue to rise. The cost of animal feed directly influences the prices of end products such as dairy, eggs, and …

…𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍-𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒋𝒐𝒃𝒔 By Kezang Choden According to a World Bank publication, well-functioning capital markets are proving to be a powerful engine for economic growth. They offer firms access to long-term and affordable financing while helping economies allocate resources more efficiently. New global evidence shows that companies in …

…𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 By Leki Chungdon The Farm Machinery Corporation Limited (FMCL) has begun harvesting sesame at its Nitchula farm in Dagana, with an expected yield of around 4.5 metric tonnes this season. The harvest marks another milestone in FMCL’s ongoing efforts to promote sesame cultivation and strengthen domestic edible oil …