EDITORIAL

Land has always been highly priced in Thimphu, and prices seem to be now reaching record levels. On one hand, increasing land rates in Thimphu is one of the best indicators that the Bhutanese economy is doing well, as most of the buyers are from the business community. Land prices …

There is a global conversation going on among governments, civil society, academia, media, and ordinary people on the increasingly dark and insidious nature of social media, and its impact on real lives and real society. The conversation is both about acknowledging we all have a growing social media problem on …

The SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SAARC CCI) secretariat based in Pakistan and Pakistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) are clearly working in cahoots to deny Bhutan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) its rightful chance be the next SAARC CCI President. The SAARC CCI Presidency works on …

The importance of the Mangdechu tariff negotiations cannot be understated for Bhutan in setting a precedent for Punatsangchu I and II and also deciding the income for Bhutan’s most important source of domestic revenue. All that Bhutan is asking for is a fair tariff rate, based on the cost of …

The loan interest rate reduction reform, carried out by the Central Bank at the request of the government from August 2016, saved an estimated Nu 3.2 bn for borrowers, just in 2017. This is only set to increase in the coming years as the loan base increases. According to feedback …

It is the responsibility of the current government to draw up the draft 12th FYP plan and secure in principal donor commitments, so that when a new government comes in it has a ready plan and also donors that it can approach. In that sense, this government must be commended …

The Bhutan Living Standard Survey (BLSS) in 2017 revealed that the unemployment in Bhutan had reached a historic low of 2 percent in 2017 (March to April) compared to 2.7 percent in 2012. For most business owners in the private sector this would not be news given the increasing difficulty …

As Bhutanese journalists marked yet another World Press Freedom day, it is important for us to recognize the number one challenge facing the press in Bhutan. It is not self censorship, it is not lack of access to information, it is not a small society syndrome nor is it about …

Bhutan has had two general elections and is scheduled to go into a third one. However, even before this election starts, the government and the opposition are faced with the quandary of what to do with the annual budget for 2018-19 financial year. This is because on one hand the …

The biggest winner of the 2018 NC elections is Bhutanese democracy with a turnout of 54.28 percent. This is higher than the 2013 polls and also the 2008 polls. This was made possible in large part by the Election Commission of Bhutan (ECB) through its postal ballot facilitation booth facility …