Archive

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 …

The 2025 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has sparked renewed interest in the state of media freedom in Bhutan. While the country’s ranking plummeted to 152nd, the reasoning offered in the report- particularly its assertion that 80 percent of private newspapers’ advertising revenue comes from government agencies and is allocated based on proximity to power- was …

…𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝑷𝒉𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈 By Sonam Choden Infrastructure development plays a critical and multifaceted role in enhancing regional connectivity, fostering socio-economic growth, and improving access to essential public services, particularly in rural and underserved communities where isolation has historically limited development …

…𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓-𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒎𝒕𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒍𝒊 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Kinzang Lhamo The official handover of three water borewells under the Small Development Project (SDP) was held on May 5, 2025, marking a crucial step in addressing persistent water shortages in Gomtu and Pagli. With two borewells in Gomtu and one in Pagli, the …

…𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒗𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 By Tashi Tshewang Bhutan’s year-on-year inflation rate rose to 3.52% in March 2025, driven largely by a steep increase in food prices, according to the National Statistics Bureau’s latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) bulletin. Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices surged by …