Map of Strategic Sites in Paro and Thimphu showing their land use mix and neighbourhood groupings Thimphu and Paro maybe located into two different valleys but the two places have become synonymous with each other over time as both places boomed and the transport infrastructure improved between them. The Prime …
Read More »Sri Lanka’s crisis and lessons for Bhutan and the South Asian region
Sri Lanka was hit by a major economic crisis when it failed to meet its debt obligations and saw shortages of fuel and essentials, massive inflation, drop in reserves and a steep drop in its currency value in 2022. Its GDP shrank by 8% and poverty almost doubled from 13% …
Read More »Growing concern of tax evasion and fronting in Tourism Industry
There are growing reports and increasing concerns of tax evasion in the tourism industry as tourists now only have to pay the USD 100 per day SDF and what they do and how much money they spend after this is up to them, which makes it difficult to track their …
Read More »Strong dollar and euro wipes out Nu 1 bn in profits of 126 MW Dagachu Project
The Dagachu Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (DHPC) in its 8 years of operations has made a total profit of Nu 673.675 million (mn). The profit margins were affected by the forex losses aggregating to Nu. 1,068.923 mn or Nu 1 billion (bn) over the same period. Without the forex losses …
Read More »NSB to overhaul Inflation Calculation
In the last Parliament session both the National Council and the National Assembly passed a resolution to direct the the National Statistical Bureau (NSB) to reexamine the method of calculating inflation to correct any anomalies and ensure that the calculation reflects the economic reality in Bhutan rather than just following …
Read More »2022 Supreme Court NPL verdict coming back to haunt the Judiciary and Financial Institutions
On 13 July 2022 the Supreme Court upheld a High Court judgment on the RICBL Vs Ugyen Wangchuk Non Performing Loan (NPL) recovery case which said that a Nu 102.39 mn loan owed by contractor Ugyen Wangchuk is to be divided equally between Ugyen Wangchuk, RICBL and the relevant RICBL …
Read More »Department of Tourism DG appeals to RCSC over assessment
The Director General of the Department of Tourism Dorji Dhradhul recently submitted his resignation to the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Employment (MoICE) as he not satisfied with the RCSC MaX Annual Performance Assessment where he was placed under Partially Meets Expectation (PME). The DG was later convinced by higher …
Read More »RBP charges school teacher in Lhamoizingkha of molesting 7 school children
The Royal Bhutan Police (RBP) has charged a senior school teacher in Lhamoizingkha with molesting a total of seven school children mainly in classes five and six in a boarding school there. The case first came to light on 21st August 2023 when a young school student of the school …
Read More »Supreme Court delivers landmark judgment on Punakha rape case
The Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the High Court In a landmark judgment the Supreme Court on 15 September 2023 upheld the 9-year prison sentence given by the High Court in the Punakha rape case where a school girl was raped by her step father after the death of …
Read More »RCSC proposes to bring back or fill in 14 Commissions and Councils
The Civil Service Reform Act 2022 under section 13 did away with Boards in all the existing laws under the civil service and the concerned ministries were to carry out the functions of the Board. This meant an array of commissions, councils, authorities and committees saw themselves being removed, merged …
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