News

Only one of four specialists remains at Wangduechhoeling Hospital

Bumthang—For 54-year-old Sonam Tobgay of Choekhor Gewog in Bumthang, the arrival of medical specialists at Wangduechhoeling Hospital brought a rare sense of reassurance.

Jan 07, 2026 2 mins read 2,292 views
Bhutan advances climate-smart agriculture as HKH region faces climate finance gap

Bhutan has made steady progress in strengthening c...

Jan 07, 2026 4 mins read 1,223 views
Audit finds millions in public assets untracked, urges mandatory use of government inventory system

The Royal Audit Authority (RAA) has urged the fina...

Jan 07, 2026 2 mins read 3,205 views
RCSC redefines leadership for Diamond Strategy

Gelephu—As Bhutan charts an ambitious national transformation, leadership is being recast not merely as administration but as stewardship, responsible for...

Jan 07, 2026 4 mins read 1,829 views
Terrama joins GMC to develop Bhutan’s green finance hub

Jan 07, 2026 3 mins read 2,573 views
Disasters hit, pockets empty

With tax season underway, the impact of climate-induced disasters on the country’s public finances is easy to miss. Yet each time extreme weather strikes, the cost of recovery continues to fall mainly on domes...

Jan 07, 2026 3 mins read 1,202 views
Putting Bhutanese cricket on global map

Jan 07, 2026 3 mins read 2,460 views
Caring for Pem Zam

Jan 07, 2026 3 mins read 1,366 views
Young innovators showcase entrepreneurial talent

Gelephu — Elderly residents find it hard to access markets, busy households have little time to buy fresh produce, food safety remains a concern, and farmers struggle to sell directly to consumers.

Jan 03, 2026 2 mins read 2,201 views
Closer look at Bhutan’s import-driven meat industry

Phuentsholing—Even as the National Assembly recently concluded a contentious debate on the Livestock Bill of Bhutan 2025, the deeper c...

Jan 03, 2026 4 mins read 1,543 views
New FDI regime offers wider access to foreign investors in agriculture

The agriculture and livestock sector is seeing an increased investor interest follo...

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 2,087 views
Internal survey reveals deep strain on health workers at JDWNRH

Overstretched staff working long hours for limited pay, with few career paths and little support, are ho...

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 4,702 views
Central Monastic Body modernises governance with new HR commission

The Zhung Dratshang (Central Monastic Body) has introduced a major transformation of its human resource management system with the establishment of the Dratshang Human Resource Commission (DHRC).

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 1,251 views
Thimphu Dzongkhag Court penalises lender, borrower in unlicensed money-lending case

Thimphu Dzongkhag Court on December 30, 2025 impos...

Jan 03, 2026 2 mins read 9,232 views
Sarpang land market picks up after seven-month slump

Sarpang—The land market in Sarpang, after nearly seven months of downturn, is gradually rebounding following the announcement of the shar...

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 4,223 views
Thimphu faces growing urban heat risk, new study finds

On a sunny afternoon in Thimphu, the difference is easy to feel. Step off a shaded, tree-lined footpath onto a wide asphalt road, a...

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 1,430 views
Drukair programme opens doors to underprivileged students

Dressed in orange T-shirts and black tracksuits, 47 students, including three with special needs, waited quietly at Paro International Airport, holding their boarding passes, their eyes wide with anticipation.

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 966 views
PHPA-I machines age as dam delays stretch to 15 years

Ten years after the completion of its powerhouse and 14-kilometre head-race tunnel (HRT), the Punatsangchhu-I Hydropower Project (PHPA...

Jan 03, 2026 4 mins read 1,462 views
Govt. launches GST to modernise tax system

Jan 01, 2026 2 mins read 3,196 views
A tribute in craft and stamp: Honours Fourth Druk Gyalpo’s 70th Birth Anniversary

A Folk Heritage Craft Village, aimed at revitalisi...

Dec 31, 2025 3 mins read 1,272 views
Price slump and early harvests in India hit Bhutan’s potato exports

Bhutan’s potato sector, buoyed by last year’s price surge driven by shortages in India...

Dec 31, 2025 3 mins read 1,147 views
Thimphu schools turn away 628 students for 2026 PP intake

For the 2026 Class pre-primary (PP) intake, 15 schools under Thimphu Thromde received about 1,888 applications. However, c...

Dec 31, 2025 1 mins read 1,638 views
Pay difference between Bhutanese and Indian nurses due to contract and housing allowance: MoH

The Ministry of Health clarified that Indian nurses are paid based on experience, with salaries aligned to national scales and supplemented by contract and housing allowances.

Dec 31, 2025 3 mins read 3,478 views
Three diploma programmes to equip Class X students with practical skills

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development, in collaboration with the G...

Dec 31, 2025 1 mins read 1,470 views
PM rejects corruption claims, stands by finance minister over ESP

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay rejected the Opposition Party's demand for the finance minister’s r...

Dec 31, 2025 3 mins read 3,615 views
Bhutan Entrepreneurs Fund scaled down to USD 50M

The proposed USD 100 million Global Bhutan Entrepreneurship Corridor Fund has been scaled down to USD 50 million following an assessment of the utili...

Dec 31, 2025 1 mins read 1,113 views
Education ministry rolls out nationwide winter engagement plan

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development has rolled out a range of structured winter programmes to ensure students remain meaningfully engaged and spend their winter vacation in a holistic, productive, and enriching manner.

Dec 31, 2025 2 mins read 1,122 views
Browse Archives
Former BIG regional manager sentenced to nine years for embezzlement

Bumpa Wangmo, former regional manager of Bhutan Industrial Gas (BIG), has been sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of embezzling company funds by the Phuentsholing Dungkhag Court on December 31.

Jan 09, 2026 1 mins read 10,401 views
Dzongkhags rally to attract local tourists

Jan 08, 2026 4 mins read 1,710 views
First Pelsung cohort showcases 74 innovative ideas

Jan 08, 2026 2 mins read 2,754 views
STCBL to supply fuel to Project DANTAK

Jan 07, 2026 2 mins read 2,233 views
Rising arrivals, shrinking returns for tourism industry

Jan 07, 2026 3 mins read 3,026 views
Reflecting on access to information

Jan 07, 2026 5 mins read 1,674 views
New FDI regime offers wider access to foreign investors in agriculture

The agriculture and livestock sector is seeing an increased investor interest following major reforms in foreign direct investment (FDI) policy that liberalised ownership rules and eased approvals.

Jan 03, 2026 3 mins read 2,087 views
BCCI submits 35 business ideas to govt. for private sector engagement

The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has submitted 35 business proposals from 12 sector associations to th...

Dec 20, 2025 2 mins read 2,499 views
Bhutan attracts major impact finance commitments at SDG forum

During the two-day Bhutan SDG Impact Finance Forum held last week in Thimphu, international and high-level participants...

Dec 20, 2025 3 mins read 1,202 views
Businesses propose action oriented public-private forum to address private sector woes

The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has proposed the government to re-establish the high-level Private Se...

Dec 20, 2025 2 mins read 1,422 views
Taxes our forefathers paid

Jan 13, 2026 2 mins read 739 views
Gym that asks you to grow, not just train

Jan 10, 2026 2 mins read 478 views
Happiness with Mr Bhutan

Happiness can be described in countless ways, yet it is always experienced as one. Even if we fail to put it into words, we still recognise it. Sometimes, only when old words fade from the ton...

Dec 18, 2025 4 mins read 1,059 views
Happiness with Mr Bhutan

Happiness can be described in countless ways, yet it is always experienced as one. Even if we fail to put it into words, we still recognise it. Sometimes, only when old words fade from the ton...

Dec 16, 2025 4 mins read 746 views
Making GST work past early hiccups

The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a major fiscal reform in recent years. These new reforms are part of a broader effort to modernise the country’s tax system to make taxation fairer, more efficient, and more business-friendly, while also increasing the tax base.

Jan 10, 2026 2 mins read 785 views
The cost of delay

Jan 07, 2026 2 mins read 1,161 views
A new chapter for Kuensel

Two decades ago, in February 2005, Kuensel increased its publication frequency to twice a week. This move was a direct response to our readers’ growing needs and a conscious preparation for the n...

Jan 03, 2026 2 mins read 897 views
Strengthening the third sector

Over the years, the civil society sector has quietly assumed a critical role in bridging policy and people. Often referred to as the third sector, CSOs have emerged as indispensable partners in Bhutan’s pursuit...

Dec 31, 2025 2 mins read 1,172 views
Why selective privatisation in healthcare makes sense

The debate on private sector participation in healthcare has reached an unhelpful impasse. This is mainly because it is...

Dec 30, 2025 2 mins read 1,532 views
Agencies must be held accountable for financial irregularities

The Royal Audit Authority’s (RAA) latest annual report is disturbing, to say the least. Financial irregularities reached...

Dec 29, 2025 2 mins read 3,013 views
What about moral and ethical accountability?

The Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) investigation into the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) loan was meant to settle...

Dec 27, 2025 2 mins read 1,910 views
Citizens building a nation’s future

The fourth round of the Gelephu Mindfulness City volunteer programme, which drew a record 10,000 participants, pushing total participation beyond 22,500, must be celebrated as a national moment. The overwhelming number of volunteer...

Dec 26, 2025 2 mins read 1,562 views
The promise of Bhutan-Thailand Free Trade Agreement

The parliamentary endorsement of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Thailand marks a watershed moment in Bhutan’s econo...

Dec 25, 2025 2 mins read 1,487 views
Time to open farms to foreign labour

The shortage of farm labour is a real problem faced by farming households across the country.  Over the years, this has undermined productivity, escalated food prices, and led to a steady increase in fallow land. Against this ba...

Dec 24, 2025 2 mins read 909 views
Amochu quarriers call for flood walls after millions in losses

Phuentsholing—Businesses involved in extracting and exporting boulders, gravel, and sand along the Amochu river are call...

Oct 16, 2025 2 mins read 2,525 views
Sir, your advice to the younger generation?

Choose your environment Your environment is the invisible hand that constantly shapes the way you think, feel, and act....

Nov 19, 2025 1 mins read 857 views
Happiness with Mr Bhutan

Our global culture has conditioned us to spend the best of ourselves in the pursuit of a “decent living” whatever that m...

Sep 22, 2025 4 mins read 3,747 views
Ask Mr Bhutan

In a world that constantly advertises, applauds, and sells consumption, acquisition and growth at all costs, cultivating...

Aug 18, 2025 2 mins read 5,133 views
Building inclusive sports

For 15-year-old Nima Dema, a student from Tendruk Central School in Samtse, the opportunity to take part in the ongoing...

Dec 23, 2025 2 mins read 1,125 views
Punatsangchhu-I restarts, but at a heavy price

The resumption of works on the 1,200-megawatt Punatsangchhu Hydropower Project I offers a flicker of hope. After all, th...

Dec 22, 2025 2 mins read 1,810 views
Cost of complacent breathing

Bhutan’s clean air is becoming a comforting myth—pleasant to repeat, dangerous to believe. For years, we have worn the r...

Dec 20, 2025 2 mins read 1,121 views
Entrepreneurs need support, not slogans

We love to talk about innovation, entrepreneurship, and self-reliance. In fact, we use these words in excess in policy d...

Dec 19, 2025 2 mins read 1,157 views
A common destiny, a collective future

The 118th National Day of Bhutan, celebrated in the sacred Bumthang Valley at the historic Wangduechoeling Palace ground...

Dec 18, 2025 3 mins read 1,585 views

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