BHUTAN TODAY The New Perspective

…𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒈 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 By Yeshi Dolma At 7 a.m., Sonam steps outside her home in Thimphu and immediately coughs. The mountains usually crisp and clear in the morning sun, are obscured by a grey haze. Her chest feels tight, and she hesitates before beginning her walk to school. Across …

A nation’s budget is not simply a record of revenue and expenditure. It reflects priorities, governance choices, and a society’s vision for its future. Each allocation signals what is valued, whether in education, health, infrastructure, or social welfare, and shows how public resources are directed to achieve national objectives. Yet, without clear accountability, even well-intended policies can fail to deliver …

…𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. By Kinzang LhamoConcerns over the social and economic impact of the revised Thimphu Structure Plan were raised in Parliament after the Member of Parliament from Gangzur–Menji constituency questioned the government on the implications of increasing the minimum plot subdivision size in the capital and its surrounding areas. The …

…𝒍𝒂𝒘𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 By Yeshi DolmaDuring the 4th Session of the Fourth Parliament, lawmakers engaged in rigorous scrutiny of the FY 2025–26 national budget, raising concerns over a proposed fiscal deficit of 6.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), government-led commercial ventures, and the transparency of social and infrastructure programmes. Finance Minister …

…𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊-𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚 By Kinzang LhamoAs Bhutan accelerates its digital transformation, concerns over harmful and inappropriate online content have become increasingly prominent. In response, the National Assembly has passed a resolution mandating zero tolerance toward pornographic and violent online materials. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE), tasked with implementing this mandate, recently …