National News

…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 …

…𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂, 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒘𝒐𝒈𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆 By Kinzang LhamoDespite meeting all the criteria for Bhutan’s helicopter fare subsidy scheme, residents of Nubri and Yaksa chiwogs under Tsento Gewog in Paro remain excluded, leaving them without crucial transport support, even as neighbouring highland communities benefit from the scheme. The issue, raised repeatedly in …

…𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕-𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒈 By Kinzang Lhamo The plan to construct a new Samtse Dzong has once again been deferred, this time to the 14th Five Year Plan (FYP), leaving local leaders and residents deeply frustrated as the dzongkhag continues to face cramped working conditions, inadequate space for public services, and the …

…𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒙 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Sonam Choden In recent years, ginger producers in the southern parts of Bhutan have faced a significant drop in farm-gate prices, falling from Nu 60 per kilogram in the previous year to Nu 15–25 per kilogram in the current season. The decline has …

Bhutan stands at a pivotal moment in its demographic journey. The country’s population is aging rapidly, reflecting significant progress in health care and living standards. While increased life expectancy is a clear mark of development, it also signals emerging challenges that demand urgent and thoughtful action. Bhutan is poised to become an aging society within a few years, and the …

…𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏-𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Yeshi DolmaFor decades, 18 was widely accepted as the minimum legal age for marriage in Bhutan. Schools enforced it, awareness campaigns promoted it, and courts generally followed it. Yet one important element lagged behind: the law itself. The Marriage Act of 1980 allowed girls to marry as …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒚 𝒃𝒚 2027 By Kezang ChodenDasho Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister, described country’s rapidly aging population as a positive indicator of the country’s development but cautioned that it could present serious challenges if current demographic trends continue. He was responding to a question …

…𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝑹𝑨 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Yeshi DolmaA wave of concern spread through the private sector after the Corporate Regulatory Authority (CRA) published a list identifying 135 companies that failed to meet regulatory requirements. Initially, 215 companies were flagged for non-compliance and …

…𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒌 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 By Tashi Tshewang The Milk Processing Unit (MPU) at Nangkor, Shumar was officially inaugurated on June 17, marking an important step toward improving the local dairy industry and supporting rural livelihoods. The new facility aims to streamline milk collection, enhance processing efficiency, and expand marketing opportunities for dairy farmers …