I was told about a particular teacher, who happened to observe a group of girls celebrating the birthday of a particular Indian movie actor in a school. (I forget whether it was Salman Khan or Shahrukh Khan’s, but certainly it was one of them). The teacher went to them and …

How does changing a name help anything? Of course there is a traditional rural belief that when a child is sick for a long time changing the child’s name helps. Often the child ends up with better health and a very funny name. But what about an institution’s name? I …

His Majesty the King in the 106th Nation Day address in 2013 pointed out the issue of ‘limited coordination and communication among government agencies which invariably leads to lack of coherence.’ In what is the latest example of such behavior the Department of Revenue and Customs (DRC) went ahead and …

However, if implemented well plan will unleash much needed planned urbanization across Bhutan   The parliament may have declared 15 Dzongkhag Thromdes and 18 Yenlag Thromdes in its last session, but now there are huge budgetary, manpower and viability issues around many of these towns whose implementation could stretch into …

The National Reading Year initiative received a rude jolt when book stores in Thimphu and across Bhutan started getting charged with an additional 20 percent customs tax in addition to the five percent sales tax they were already paying for importing books from India. In response 11 bookstores in Thimphu …

The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is drafting a proposal to liberalize the tourism tariff structure. The final report is expected to be submitted by BCCI to the cabinet by next month. A senior BCCI official said that the ‘Thai Offer’ of discounted tariff rates made to tourists …

The Maggi noodle samples that were sent for lead and monosodium glutamate content testing from Bhutan to India and Thailand have been found safe and acceptable. This was revealed by the Agriculture and Forests Minister during the 17th Meet-the-Press on July 3. On June 5, Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory …

The Ambassador of Czech Republic to Bhutan, H.E. Mr. Miloslav Stasek paid a farewell call on Lyonchhen Tshering Tobgay at the Gyalyong Tshogkhang yesterday. Lyonchhoen congratulated the ambassador for successful completion of his tenure and thanked him for his constructive role in deepening relations between Bhutan and Czech Republic. The …

Sarpang, with a score of 98.9 out of 100 in the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) review for the fiscal year 2014-2015, tops the socio-economic development performance list of 20 dzongkhags in the country. The position was declared the Prime Minister at an event on July 20 in Thimphu. The review …

The Prime Minister, Tshering Tobgay, admitted that the question on whether to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) or not was one of outstanding issues that the government had to take and the cabinet would decide it upon the Foreign Ministry’s recommendation. Lyonchhen said that the Foreign Ministry was spearheading …