Bhutan stands at a crucial economic juncture. The signs of industrial expansion may look promising at a glance, especially with rising electricity output and infrastructure development. But the surface narrative conceals deeper systemic issues that call for critical introspection and timely intervention. Beneath the optimistic numbers lies a reality of structural inefficiencies, weak manufacturing performance, business closures, and an industrial …

…𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑵𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈 By Sonam Choden Access to timely healthcare remains a major challenge in remote regions of the country, where geography, limited infrastructure, and resource shortages create barriers to essential services. Nanong Gewog, located about 37 kilometers from the old Pema Gatshel town, is one …

…𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔 By Yeshi DolmaThe recent adoption of the Excise Tax Bill of 2025 has drawn mixed reactions from the public, with many citizens expressing concern over the expected rise in prices. Behind the government’s decision, however, lies a fiscal shift as the country moves from a low-income to a …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒚𝒑𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚, 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam ChodenBhutan has recently undertaken a significant initiative in digital finance through a collaboration with Binance Pay, the payment platform of Binance, a global blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider. The initiative reflects Bhutan’s growing interest in integrating financial technology into its national …

…𝒔𝒊𝒙 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏’𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Tashi TshewangBhutan’s U-20 women’s national football team is set to face Nepal in their opening match of the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship 2025 on July 11 at 7:00 PM Bhutan Standard Time (BST) at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Bangladesh. The match will mark the beginning …

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆 By Tashi Tshewang A rural development project aimed at protecting farmland and improving agricultural productivity has been completed in Daga Gewog with the successful installation of the Uma Khamaed Chain-Link Fencing (CLF). The project was implemented under the supervision of the Dzongkhag Administration and funded by the …

…𝑻𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒉𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 By Kinzang Lhamo A rural infrastructure project is underway in Tsimakha village under Chhukha Dzongkhag, where the construction of a cement-paved road is set to improve the daily lives of the local farming community. The road, once completed, will provide year-round access …

…𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 By Tashi Tshewang In the ongoing parliamentary session, Members of Parliament from Khatoed-Laya and Lingmukha-Toedwang constituencies raised urgent concerns over severe shortages of health staff in remote parts of Gasa and Punakha. They called for immediate government intervention to address the issue. The Member from Khatoed-Laya …

…𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 By Kezang Choden Finance Minister Lekey Dorji has announced major pension reform plans during a session of the National Council, highlighting serious concerns regarding the structure, long-term sustainability, and fairness of existing pension scheme. The announcement followed a question raised by …

From the mountains of Bhutan to the shores of Tuvalu, countries across Asia and the Pacific face a common challenge: transforming their agrifood systems to meet growing demand while protecting natural resources for future generations.I have witnessed this challenge firsthand in conversations with national leaders who are managing shrinking arable land and rising food prices. I have also spoken with …