The perception that Bhutan’s economy has recovered from the pandemic is misleading. A closer look reveals a slowdown in consumer activity, increasing reports of businesses operating with little or no revenue, and a rising number of loan defaults. These are not temporary symptoms but signals of deeper structural weaknesses and persistent demand-side constraints that warrant immediate policy intervention. One such …

…𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏-𝒕𝒐-𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaIn a quiet room inside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Gyaltsuen Jetsun Pema Wangchuck Mother and Child Hospital, a young mother holds her tiny newborn against her chest. There are no monitors beeping loudly or incubators buzzing- just warmth, breath, and life supported by the …

…𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒉-𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 By Zhenphen chokdenAn alarming surge in counterfeit Bhutanese banknotes, particularly fake Nu. 500 bills, has stirred concern among financial institutions, law enforcement, and small business owners across the country. While the total number of incidents remains limited, the implications are significant, undermining public trust in the national currency, hurting small …

…𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒂𝒈𝒆-𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaThe Ministry of Health(MoH) officially launched the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Healthy Ageing (RMNCAH+A) Strategy 2025-2029, reaffirming Bhutan’s commitment to promoting health and wellbeing across all stages of life, from preconception through old age on May …

Bhutan’s challenging terrain has long shaped the country’s development priorities. Roads remain the backbone of connectivity, but they are often vulnerable to monsoon disruptions and landslides. In this context, the government’s decision to explore domestic airstrips is a practical and forward-thinking step. With technical assessments completed for two sites in Samtse and Samdrup Jongkhar, the initiative represents a broader shift …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo Rangthangling Gewog, located in Tsirang Dzongkhag, continues to be a model of resilience and determination, with its farmers building on past successes to drive new agricultural ventures. After establishing a reputation for thriving sugarcane cultivation, the farmers of this gewog are now setting their …

… 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒂𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈, 𝑪𝑪 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 By Kezang ChodenSeveral gewogs across Bhutan continue to face significant operational challenges due to prolonged vacancies in key administrative positions. Gewog Administrative Officers (GAOs), Community Center (CC) Executives, drivers, and caretakers remain unassigned in many gewogs, …

By Kezang Choden In a nationwide effort to assess the forest sector’s contribution to country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Natural Resources and Environment Committee (NREC) convened a series of stakeholder meetings across six dzongkhags- Wangdue Phodrang, Bumthang, Mongar, Pemagatshel, Chukha, and Haa-between April 22 and May 5, 2024. The meetings brought together representatives from the Divisional Forest Office (DFO), …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔. By Kinzang LhamoDuring the 11th Meet-the-Press session on December 27, 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport announced plans to relocate the Thimphu cremation ground to a new site in Hongtsho, approximately ten kilometers towards Wangdue Phodrang. …

…𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒖𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 By Kezang ChodenThe Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) is set to introduce significant reforms in the education sector, including the finalization of a National Teaching Service (NTS) framework and a potential shift to the Cambridge Curriculum. These initiatives are part of a broader strategy to …