National News

…𝑪4𝑺𝑾 𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 By Sonam ChodenThe Department of Labour (DoL) under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Employment (MoICE) launched the Community for Skilled Workers (C4SW) initiative with the aim of transforming Bhutan’s workforce, empowering skilled labor, and enhancing economic resilience. While the vision of this platform is promising, …

…𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 2,000 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 2024 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒔. By Sonam ChokiIn 2024, Bhutan’s civil service faced an alarming wave of departures, with a staggering 2,013 employees exiting between January and December. Of these, 1,400 resigned voluntarily, raising serious concerns about the future of public administration in the country. This exodus has …

…𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 By Kezang ChodenDespite legal frameworks and international efforts to combat gender-based violence (GBV), the issue remains deeply rooted in Bhutanese society, affecting women across all social and economic backgrounds. According to the National Commission for Women and Children’s (NCWC) 2024-2028 National Strategy …

By Lhendup Wangmo A recent survey into gender attitudes in Bhutan has painted a complex picture, revealing that while a significant majority of women acknowledge the existence of gender equality in the country, deeply rooted traditional gender norms continue to exert influence over perceptions. Despite some progress, many women continue to uphold conventional beliefs regarding the roles and rights of …

…𝑩𝑻 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑻𝑪 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 By Kezang ChodenSince 2022, the Royal Bhutan Police (RBP), TashiCell(TC) and Bhutan Telecom Limited (BT) have collaborated to enhance crime detection through mobile tower location tracking. This initiative has played a crucial role in aiding investigations, enabling law enforcement agencies to track and solve criminal cases more effectively. …

By Zhenphen Chokden As fuel prices soar and government incentives make electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible, a powerful shift toward sustainable transportation is taking hold. With rising fuel costs and high taxes on traditional petrol vehicles, more Bhutanese, especially taxi drivers, are turning to EVs as a cost-effective and eco-friendly alternative. However, despite the growing momentum, the transition is met …

…𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 By Lhendup Wangmo The Sangshingzor Vegetable Group in Phuntshothang Gewog has successfully expanded its production of fresh vegetables after securing a stable market to supply schools. One year after submitting their proposal, the group now supplies six schools in Samdrup Choling Drungkhag …

…𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒏-𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 A growing shortage of teachers in rural schools has raised fresh concerns about the future of education in remote communities. While the latest Civil Service Statistics Report 2024 highlights an increase in overall civil service recruitment, the …

…𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 By Tashi Tshewang The Y and T Junctions in the capital have witnessed a concerning surge in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) over the past two years. In 2023, six accidents were reported, resulting in two injuries and no fatalities. However, the situation worsened in 2024, with …

…𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆. Efforts to reform the public service sector are ongoing, but significant hurdles remain. As calls for greater efficiency, transparency, and accountability grow louder, the government faces complex challenges in modernizing its workforce and administrative structures. The 2024 Civil Service Statistics report …