DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

The National Assembly session saw the Member of Parliament of Radhi-Sakteng questioning the policy of consolidation of schools and 100 percent enrollment in the education system. The Education Minister, Lyonpo Mingbo Dukpo, said such a policy of consolidation of schools is not a new thing and was already planned earlier. …

Following much deliberation, the National Assembly (NA) Amendment bill of Bhutan 2014 has been passed by the house on January 30; earlier this week, the NA’s Legislative Committee moved the motion for the third reading of the bill on January 28. The amendment bill was passed after a majority of …

The 23rd cabinet meeting held on January 27, last week at the Tashichhodzong decided to lift the ban on import of furniture and alcohol. Upon the recommendations of the Multi-sectoral Task Force, the Lhengye Zhungtshog agreed to lift the ban on furniture and alcohol in the spirit of renewing the …

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forests (MoAF) will not discontinue the practice of community forests, says the Minister of MoAF during the question hour session of National Assembly on January 28. Member of Parliament (MP) for Nganglam constituency, Choida Gyamtsho, raised the question on the MoAF suspending the formation of …

The next time you import food items from abroad, especially seeds, livestock or even processed food, then check again to see if it is genetically modified (GM) or not. Otherwise, under the ‘Bio-Safety Bill of Bhutan 2014’, your products are likely to be seized at some BAFRA checkpoint and you …

Bhutan’s ranking in the press freedom index saw a significant drop compared to the previous year, according to the South Asia Media Monitor Report. From 70th position in 2012, Bhutan has been placed at 82nd, down by 12 places this year out of 179 countries. The slide has been attributed …

South Asia was not a safe place for journalist in the year 2013 as violence against media personnel and impunity against perpetrators continued to remain a major threat to media freedom. The recently published South Asia Media Monitor Report states, “Despite UN Security Council Resolution 1738 on the safety of …

A recent the report published by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) titled “Situation Analysis Report of Children, Youth and Women in Bhutan” which was launched during the concluding session of the recent 12th Round Table Meeting, shows the country enjoys 95 percent coverage of health services. However, the UNICEF-Bhutan …

The national level entrepreneurship stakeholders meeting with special focus on collaboration and integration took place in the capital on Monday, December 16. The Ministry of Labour and Human Resources (MoLHR) has always laid the utmost emphasis on entrepreneurship development in the country. This comes in recognition of the fact that …

The DPT in its recent meeting appointed 10 MPs to be in charge of the 10 ministries similar to the shadow ministers system present in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada etc. The DPT prefers to call them a more diplomatic ‘opposition in charge of the ministry’ though the function …