National News

…𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 By Lalit Gurung Established on December 4, 2020, by five passionate individuals, the Jigmechu Ecotourism Campsite has evolved from humble beginnings into a popular seasonal destination, attracting both domestic and international visitors. What started with an initial investment of Nu. 5,000 from each of the five founders has …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒖’𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚. By Kezang ChodenAs Gelephu prepares to embrace its future as the centerpiece of Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project, land prices in the region are soaring, signaling the start of a transformative era. The once-sleepy town is experiencing a …

…𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒃𝒕, 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒄𝒌𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 By Lhendup WangmoBhutan’s economic recovery post-pandemic is under threat as rising fiscal pressures and structural vulnerabilities continue to build. While growth is projected to remain steady at 4-5% in the coming years, the nation’s ability to maintain stability is increasingly …

…𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo The tourism industry in the country has experienced a significant rise in visitor numbers in 2024, driven by strategic government initiatives focused on sustainability, high-end tourism, and enhanced infrastructure. With growing international interest, the nation is positioning itself as a leading eco-friendly destination, attracting …

…𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 By Lhendup WangmoAs the country sets its sights on achieving high-income status by 2034, the agricultural sector, particularly the Renewable Natural Resources (RNR) sector, plays an indispensable role in shaping the future of the economy. Over the years, this sector has undergone significant transformations, marked by strategic shifts …

…𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒈𝒎𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆. By Lhendup Wangmo Mental health issues among men have long been overshadowed by societal norms and expectations, leading to a widespread reluctance to discuss emotional well-being. For years, men have faced unique pressures stemming from traditional views on masculinity, career, and …

…𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒂𝒎𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒑 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝑰𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝑭𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚. By Kezang Choden A week-long training held in Dewathang has equipped ten lead farmers from Dewathang, Orong, Langchenphu, Phuntshothang, and Gomdar Gewogs with the skills to implement sustainable farming practices. Organized by the Samdrup …

…𝒕𝒐𝒑 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 By Lhendup Wangmo The Bhutan Council for School Examinations and Assessment (BCSEA) has officially released the results of the 2024 Class VIII Common Examinations, revealing a strong academic performance across all subjects and showing a promising trend toward gender parity in education. A total of 12,767 students …

…𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒖 9.5 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 By Kezang ChodenOnline scams have surged to alarming levels across the nation, with authorities reporting defrauding over Nu 21 million over the past two years. Between 2023 and 2024, the Central Police Station in Thimphu registered 156 cases of online fraud, affecting …

…𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒐𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒖 𝑴𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑪𝒊𝒕𝒚’𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝑩𝒉𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 By Nedup DorjiIn an unexpected yet calculated move, Bhutan has amassed an impressive $750 million in bitcoin holdings, representing nearly 28% of its 2023 GDP. This achievement positions Bhutan ahead of El Salvador in terms of bitcoin reserves, despite having only about 12% …