National News

By Nedup Dorji and Pema Wangmo In a modest classroom brimming with eager young minds, the foundation of Bhutan’s technological future is being carefully laid. Amid a global shift towards innovation, a local Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) based Robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) Training Institute is pioneering technology education for children as young as five years old. …

…𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝑨𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 By Kezang ChodenPanbang Dungkhag in Zhemgang Dzongkhag witnessed a significant milestone with the Salang Tendrel (groundbreaking ceremony) for a 132 kV Gas Insulated Substation (GIS) at Lungjung. This pivotal event marks the initiation of a transformative power infrastructure project set to bolster the power supply in the Lower Kheng …

…𝑳𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒑𝒐 𝑳𝒆𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝑫𝒐𝒓𝒋𝒊 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝑭𝒍𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑻𝒂𝒙𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔 By Yeshey LhadonAmidst mounting public concern over escalating vehicle prices, the government has revealed that taxation is not the sole factor behind the surge of vehicle price. During the 7th Meet-the-Press Session, Prime Minister (PM), Lyonchen Tshering Tobgay and Finance Minister Lyonpo …

… 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒊𝒔 𝑫𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑮𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑹𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑭𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝑳𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 2 By Yeshey LhadonThe eagerly awaited rollout of Bhutan’s Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) has encountered significant delays, causing widespread anticipation and concern among stakeholders. Finance Minister Lyonpo Lekey Dorji addressed the delays in a recent press briefing, …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒅 “𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏,” 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔, 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 By Kezang Choden Dorokha Lower Secondary School in Samtse Dzongkhag hosted its annual cooking competition on August 16, themed “Cooking Green.” The event aimed to encourage youth to cook independently while emphasizing environmentally friendly practices. As a long-standing tradition, the competition …

…𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑰𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑩𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔 By Kezang Choden Nichula Gewog, nestled within the picturesque landscapes of Dagana Dzongkhag, has become a beacon of self-reliance and community spirit. Instead of relying solely on government support, the residents have embraced a proactive approach to address local challenges, demonstrating that collective effort can lead to significant improvements. This model …

… 𝒂 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊-𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 178,200 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 264 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆-𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 By Kezang ChodenZhemgang Dzongkhag has launched an ambitious coffee plantation project, aiming to transform the region’s agricultural landscape and boost the local economy. Spanning across seven gewogs-Nangkor, Trong, Bardo, Phangkhar, Goshing, Nangla, and Bjoka- this initiative plans to plant coffee saplings …

… 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒌, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒓𝒖𝒑𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒈 By Pema WangmoThe growing presence of unsupervised horses in Phobjikha, a key area within Gangtey Gewog, has become a significant threat to local livelihoods and community safety. Residents are facing severe challenges as these horses damage property, disrupt daily life, …

…𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝑵𝒖 1.5 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒔 The bustling streets of Dechencholing have turned into a landscape of devastation following the flash flood that struck on August 10, 2024. Among the worst-hit is the owner of Mendra Grocery and Liquor Shop, who now faces the daunting task of recovering from a …

Bhutan stands out on the global stage as one of the few countries with carbon-negative status, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide than it emits. This remarkable achievement, coupled with its reputation as an environmental champion, has positioned Bhutan as a model for sustainable development. However, despite these accolades, the country faces significant challenges in waste management, which, if addressed …