Sherab Lhamo

By 2029, more than 400,000 Bhutanese will be proficient in digital skills and able to safely use online services, including a range of public services, banking, video conferencing, and social media, as per the National Digital Strategy (NDS) 2024.

This ambitious goal is a key target of the digital society pillar, one of the three main pillars of the NDS. The other two pillars are the digital economy and digital governance, with the overarching vision being ‘Intelligent Bhutan’.

Out of a total budget of Nu 10 billion allocated for digital transformation, Nu 610.65 million will be dedicated to initiatives under the digital society pillar.

The digital society pillar aims to promote community vitality and improve the quality of life by leveraging technology to empower citizens, promote volunteerism, expedite the justice system, enhance community safety, and provide economic opportunities.

A crucial target of the strategy is to enhance cybersecurity, aiming to raise the cybersecurity maturity level from Level 1 (Start-up) to Level 4 (Strategic) to safeguard citizens.

Three strategies have been identified to achieve the digital society goal – enhancing digital literacy and skilling, strengthening communities, and ensuring safety and security of citizens.

Digital literacy will be improved by empowering citizens to utilise online services safely, encouraging active participation in national discourses, and promoting healthy technology practices.

The strategy also aims to harness the full potential of digital technologies through digital skill empowerment programs, targeting the general public, monk bodies, students, and others.

In addition, the program will focus on upskilling and reskilling civil servants to adapt to digital changes and deliver public services efficiently.

The strategy also aims to strengthen communities by promoting the sharing of culture and heritage knowledge through digital platforms and developing a volunteer and donation platform.

To ensure the safety and security of citizens, law enforcement agencies, government bodies, and educational institutions will collaborate to reduce the crime rate by streamlining the judiciary system with online services, developing coordinated case management systems, and improving the monitoring of public spaces using CCTVs and Internet of Things technologies.

The GovTech Agency will lead the implementation of the NDS, with multiple agencies involved. Different implementing and supporting partners have been identified for each strategy.

The NDS was launched on July 12.