National News

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍-𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉. By Kezang ChodenThe One Gewog, One Product (OGOP) initiative is set to expand its support for projects that promote entrepreneurship, improve livelihoods, and strengthen the rural economy. The expanded initiative will focus on creating high-quality, authentic Bhutanese products that adhere …

…𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 A persistent shortage of medical specialists is putting significant pressure on the healthcare system, raising concerns about hospitals’ and health centers’ ability to meet the growing demand for specialized care. According to the Civil Service Statistics Report 2024, while there has been an overall increase in …

…𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒌𝒊𝒘𝒊𝒇𝒓𝒖𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. By Kezang Choden In Kadak Silambi Chiwog, Mongar Dzongkhag, farmers are embracing the T-bar trellising system to boost kiwifruit production, with support from the Agriculture Research and Development Corporation (ARDC) Wengkhar and the Commercial Agriculture and Resilient Livelihood Enhancement Programme (CARLEP). Introduced in …

…𝒂𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚’𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒌 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. By Lhendup Wangmo As global pop culture and urban migration continue to shape the interests of youth, traditional folk songs like “Sham Sham Dolep” risk being forgotten. Once central to festivals and community gatherings, this cherished song- and other cultural practices- are …

The global environment is facing an unprecedented crisis, with air pollution and climate change emerging as major threats. Bhutan, despite its small size, cannot remain indifferent to the escalating risks posed by air pollution. The degradation of air quality, driven by industrialization, deforestation, and harmful gas emissions, is already affecting public health, ecosystems, and the global climate. Bhutan must take …

…𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒉-𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒚𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈-𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒆. By Lhendup WangmoBhutanese drivers are encountering several challenges while using the FASTag system on India’s Assam Highway, including double toll charges and restrictions forcing cash-only payments. These issues have created significant hurdles for road users and raised concerns …

By Sonam ChodenA devastating forest fire broke out in Damchu on January 23, 2025, destroying seven homes and leaving the community reeling from the swift destruction. Despite the heroic efforts of local authorities, volunteers, and residents, the blaze, fueled by strong winds, tore through miles of land, rapidly spreading across approximately nine kilometers toward Tsamdrag and Pagga Chiwog, displacing families …

…𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒔, 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒈𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚. By Kezang ChodenYeezang De Thapa, the Minister of Education and Skills Development, emphasized that the concept of central schools has been a key component of Bhutan’s education policy since the introduction of the first …

…𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 By Kezang Choden In a significant effort to promote large-scale livestock farming and enhance economic opportunities for local farmers, the Trashigang Dzongkhag Livestock Sector recently organized a Cattle Rally Program in Bikhar and Samkhar Gewog. The event, which celebrated excellence in dairy breeding, brought …

…𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒇 12 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒁𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑫𝒛𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒈 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆, 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚. By Lhendup Wangmo Since 2012, a group of 12 women in Soobdrang Chiwog, Trong Gewog under Zhemgang Dzongkhag, have made significant progress in agricultural development by forming a cooperative aimed at cultivating cardamom. The cooperative has not only …