BHUTAN TODAY The New Perspective

…𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒚 2026, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Tashi Tshewang In a significant step toward strengthening youth engagement in southern Bhutan, a new youth center is set to be established in Samtse, with construction expected to be completed in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The center, spanning an area …

…𝒂𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒉𝒐𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏. By Yeshi Dolma and Zhenphen Chokden Bhutan continues to grapple with a substantial health and economic burden due to alcohol-related harm. With 9,717 active alcohol-selling establishments across the country- roughly one for every 75 people- alcohol remains …

… 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Tashi TshewangBhutan is moving forward with plans to expand domestic air connectivity through the construction of two new airstrips, one in Yoeseltse, Samtse, and the other in Samrang, Samdrup Jongkhar. The proposal has drawn both anticipation and concern, as the government promotes it as a step toward …

…𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕-𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒕 By Kinzang Lhamo In a major development for Bhutan’s aviation sector, Drukair – Royal Bhutan Airlines has officially signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with SMBC Aviation Capital for the lease of a brand-new Airbus A320neo aircraft. The signing ceremony was held in Bangkok on May 10, 2025, …

…𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆-𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑻𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒂 By Kinzang Lhamo In country, a fresh wave of opportunity is emerging for communities across districts like Tsirang and Dagana, where locals are now pioneering the production of value-added agricultural products such as ginger candy, buckwheat cookies, ginger roll candy, ginger marmalade, papaya candy, green pea …