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…𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 By Yeshi Dolma At the 17th Meet-the-Press session, Health Minister Tandin Wangchuk acknowledged a critical gap in the national health security system: the absence of a dedicated policy and response mechanism for radiation emergencies. This shortcoming was highlighted during the recent Joint External Evaluation (JEE), which gave the …

…𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒑𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌, 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo Thimphu’s rapid urban expansion has revealed serious sanitation challenges that threaten public health, the environment, and equitable urban development. Although sewer connections have reached over 70 percent of households, nearly one-third of the population- especially those living on steep and difficult terrain- still rely on onsite …

Tenzin Drukpa As Bhutan continues to plan ambitious new ventures, the country is also undergoing quiet but significant transformations that receive far less attention. These changes are unfolding across classrooms, civil offices, digital spaces, and in conversations among young Bhutanese weighing their future. While the spotlight remains fixed on structural and economic innovation, the deeper shifts shaping the country’s development …

…𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒅𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒋𝒐𝒃 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Leki ChungdonThe abrupt shutdown of a youth-led food truck in Thimphu by the Dzongkhag Administration has left three entrepreneurs and five employees without jobs, raising questions about transparency and the future of youth entrepreneurship in Bhutan. The food truck, …

…𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaAs the country projects a 19.48 percent expansion in its industrial sector in 2025, with electricity generation alone expected to increase by over 20 percent, optimism around industrialization as a new economic engine is growing. Yet, beneath the surface of these growth figures …

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 …