As Bhutan enters the fiscal year 2023-24, while there have been positive signs of progress, such as a reduction in the fiscal deficit due to increased revenue mobilization, Bhutan faces challenges with a projected widening fiscal deficit, driven by reduced grant estimates. The total public debt has risen to alarming levels, reaching 136.8 percent of GDP, primarily attributed to hydropower …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Sonam DekiThe Department of Tourism is actively exploring various avenues to boost tourism. While a Sustainable Development Fee is charged for every tourist, the department adopts a unique approach for social media influencers whom they deem capable of effectively promoting the kingdom. These influencers, …

…4780 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆, 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒏𝒔𝒆 By Phurpa Wangmo Recent data from the Bhutan Construction and Transport Authority (BCTA) has unveiled a disconcerting trend within the country – an increasing number of individuals flouting driving license regulations. Between the year 2022 and the first week of October 2023, a staggering 4,780 individuals were …

In the midst of a turbulent global economic landscape, Bhutan’s extraordinary economic resurgence in 2022 stands as a remarkable testament to the nation’s resilience and the efficacy of its economic policies. With a striking growth rate of 5.2 percent, Bhutan managed to rebound from the severe economic contraction of -10.2 percent experienced in 2020, a year deeply scarred by the …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 2022-23 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 8 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒖. 20,101 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓. By Phurpa WangmoThe total budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 is maintained at Nu. 74.86 billion, representing a 7.6 percent increase compared to the fiscal year 2022-23. Out of this total expenditure, Nu. 45.55 billion is allocated …

Khenpo Ugyen Norbu dedicated 17 years of his life to studying in Mysore, India, where he earned the esteemed title of Khenpo, equivalent to a Ph.D. in Buddhist Philosophy, from the Ngagyur Nyingma Institute. In Bumthang and Gangtey, he shared his profound knowledge by teaching a range of subjects, including academic Shastra teachings, Higher tantra teachings, and Lower sections of …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝑼𝑺$58 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 60% 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝑮𝑫𝑷 Phurpa Wangmo Water, the world’s most precious yet undervalued resource, is at the heart of a mounting global crisis that threatens both human and planetary health, as warned by a new report published by World Wildlife Fund …

…𝑪𝑺𝑶𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆-𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑺𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 Sonam Deki The undersigned civil society organizations (CSOs) are deeply concerned by the Civil Society Organizations Authority’s recent decision on the endowment fund requirement for CSOs. While they welcome the Authority’s decision, the amounts are exorbitant for most CSOs. The Authority arrived at the decision …

…𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 In Bhutan, the absence of footpaths in suburban and urban areas has emerged as a pressing issue that demands immediate attention. The prevailing situation, where footpaths are predominantly confined to urban locales, leaves a significant gap in the country’s infrastructure. Footpaths are an integral part of …

…𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 Sonam Deki Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering presented the State of the Nation Report to Parliament on October 13, unveiling an ambitious roadmap for the future. According to the report, the 13th Five-Year Plan will primarily focus on boosting the private sector, signaling a strategic …