EDITORIAL

India’s largest trading partner is China, with whom it has an annual trade of USD (US dollar) 71.28 bn and a trade deficit of USD 51.08 bn as per the 2016-17 financial year. This deficit is allowed to continue in spite of the economic, geo strategic and military rivalry between …

An eagle’s eye look at Thimphu or for that any major town’s hazy outline denotes the growing air pollution impact of the increased number of vehicles in Bhutan, now approaching around 90,000 vehicles. A look away from the evening skyline on to the roads, especially during office hours, will find …

Bhutan is facing a bouquet of trade and economic challenges brought about by the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India, that subsumes multiple taxes into one. The relevant thing for Bhutan is that it makes it cheaper to import from India and more expensive to export …

In 2008 a grand pronouncement was made of 10,000 MW by 2020 by the then government. This was seen as the silver bullet to all of Bhutan’s economic challenges, including the biggest one of being a country that is economically not self-sufficient. In the subsequent years the entire government machinery …

After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, it’s former President coined the controversial ‘with us or against us’ phrase. This seems to be emerging social media culture in Bhutan, where there is little space for intelligent and civil discourse. Instead, it is becoming an increasingly vitriolic space with people …

Bhutan is progressing by leaps and bounds, not only economically, but also socially on everything from women’s rights to the latest being accepting gay and transgender people. Many of us spent an entire election cycle condemning Trump for a lot of bad behavior, including his perceived racial bias and the …

In an essay competition in a Thimphu school a young child wrote that he wished he was a phone so that his parents would spend more time with him. There are similar feelings being voiced out in different ways by young children who are not even in their teens. In …

As the 2018 polls approaches Bhutan’s social media scene is becoming host to deliberately created ‘fake news,’ that spins tall and sensational yarns with mainly a political twist or aim. The surprising thing is that a lot of what is posted as fake news is being accepted as the truth …

The rescue of Bhutanese girls from Gulf countries brings to light several cross cutting issues in Bhutan. The current government has carried out a series of mass employment programs from schemes like the GEP of the labour ministry to opening new State Owned Enterprises to sending youth abroad. A consequence …

As Bhutan is in its ninth year of democracy heading into the 2018 polls there is a real danger of Bhutan turning into a ‘Particracy.’ Particracy is a modern political term that defines a  form of government where one or more political parties dominate the political process, rather than citizens. In 2008, strong party differences that …