Lyonchhen Dasho Tshering Tobgay is on an official visit to India from 5th to 7th July 2018 at the invitation of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Among a host of bilateral issues, the three top issues from Bhutan’s side was seeking a broad Indian commitment for the 12th plan, …

Thimphu last saw land rates reaching a record high in late 2011 and early 2012, before an economic crisis hit in the form of the rupee crisis and the resultant curtailment of credit. Economic growth also reached a historic low of 2.1 percent in 2013. The result was a crash …

With the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) accepting the resignation of the incumbent Cabinet Secretary, Kinzang Wangdi in early May 2018, the post of the senior-most civil servant is vacant. Kinzang Wangdi joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as it Bartsham-Shongphu candidate in mid-May. Normally, in the case of the …

The Royal Civil Service Commission’s (RCSC) first year of its performance assessment system results, that track the individual performance of all civil servants, confirmed some long standing conventional wisdom on the civil service. The wisdom being that roughly around 20 percent of the civil servants are very hardworking and take …

The Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has written to the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) saying that BCCI might consider withdrawing from SAARC CCI if Bhutan’s BCCI is not given its rightful turn to be the President for 2020 to 2021. This letter sent on …

If there is one negotiation to keep an eye on, then it is the ongoing electricity tariff rate negotiations for the 720 MW Mangdechu project scheduled to be commissioned by November 2018. This is because in the ongoing negotiation between Bhutanese and Indian officials the method of setting the tariff …

Namgay Dorji, is the Managing Director of the Namgay Heritage Hotel in Thimphu, Hotel Namgay in Phuentsholing and a beer factory and restaurant in Paro. He said that the loan interest rate reductions from September 2016 has meant that he pays upto Nu 200,000 less per month to the banks …

The grant amount for the first time same could be the same as for the 11th plan Even though the 12th plan revenue projections have been badly hit by tens of billions through the delay of the Punatsangchu I and II projects and the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the …

For hydro watchers, the November 2014 visit of the Indian President Pranabh Mukherjee, confirmed long standing doubts about the 10,000 MW by 2020 deal between India and Bhutan announced in 2008. Before the ink could even dry on the paper for this 2008 broad 10,000 MW by 2020 agreement the …

All of the above are expected to join PDP in the coming months The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) recently accepted the resignations of five senior executives of the government including the senior-most civil servant- the cabinet secretary Kinzang Wangdi. The Cabinet Secretary’s resignation was formally accepted last week by …