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Thimphu Police registered 287 cases in 2017 in connection with abuse, possession and illegal transactions of controlled substances that led to the arrest of 596 people, the highest in recent years. Police also seized 50,000 SP+ capsules, 2,370 tablets of N10, 72 100 ml bottles of corex and 19.95 liters …

The 17th phase of Police Youth Partnership Program began in Pasakha, Phuentsholing, with 44 participants of which 24 are female. The two week program, which started on 3rd January and will go on till 18th January, will educate participants on juvenile crime and its prevention, education on health, legal provisions …

The Ministry of Education (MoE) plans to have at least one school with special educational needs (SEN) programme in each dzongkhag and thromde by the end of the 12th five year plan. This was one of the resolutions of the annual education conference held in Zhemgang. Education minister Norbu Wangchuk …

Bhutan’s literacy rate increased to 66 percent in the past five years, from 63 percent in 2012 according to the Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) 2017. Youth (15-24 years) were the most literate group at 93 percent and it was 60 percent for adults (15 years and above). Literacy rates …

Bhutan’s fertility rate has seen a huge decline over the years, from 5.6% in 1994 to 4.7 in 2000 to 2.3 in 2012. This year the fertility rate dropped to 1.9% which according to the Health Minister Lyonpo Tandin Wangchuk is a huge concern. The health minister said the situation …

Despite the massive online presence of children, one in three internet users worldwide is a child, too little is done to protect them from the perils of the digital world and to increase their access to safe online content, UNICEF said in its annual flagship report released this week. Children …

The highest share of health related expenditure, 58 percent, went into conducting religious ceremonies (rimdo or puja) according to the Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) 2017, reflecting the strong affinity of Bhutanese towards spirituality and the centrality of spiritual support. Total transportation charges (for emergency and non-emergency) consti­tuted a fourth …

Agriculture continues to remain the mainstay occupation of more than 80 percent of the population in Lhuentse, Paro, and Zhemgang according to the report on citizen’s perception on basic public services carried out by Bhutan Transparency Initiative (BTI) on Implementation of 11th Five Year Plan. The report states that agriculture …

Longer waiting time for patients and delay in delivery of consultation services at the JDWNRH, are the main issues pointed out by a performance audit report on delivery of OPD services. The average waiting time for patients in medical OPD is observed at one hour 38 minutes and general OPD …

In line with the recommendation made by the parliament, the RAA conducted the performance audit with an overall objective to ascertain the economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the management of school feeding with a specific focus on nutrition covering the government funded schools for two financial periods. The RAA had …