Gangs pledge to disband
27 August 2010
55 gang members pledged to dissociate themselves from gangs and gang violence The leader of a gang signs his pledge before the chief of police. The leaders of the two most notorious gangs in Thimphu, MB Boys and Sabji Bazaar Gang, signed a pledge of allegiance yesterday on behalf of their members, formally disbanding the gangs for good. The pledge, which symbolised realisation that they have gone... Read the story »
Drukair plans to attract more Indian tourists
27 August 2010
Drukair says India could be the single biggest tourist market for Bhutan With the aim to increase Indian tourists visiting Bhutan by five percent this year, Drukair Corporation has revived its holiday package under the Royal Druk Holidays (RDH) brand. The package for Indian tourists ranges from a minimum of three nights four days to a maximum of 10 days. The packages are inclusive of airfare... Read the story »
Contractual grey area
27 August 2010
Officials call for stronger clauses on termination of contracts The revised standard bid document (SBD) is at the heart of delay in government contract works, officials pointed out yesterday at the sixth annual engineering conference in Thimphu. Officials said that the revised SBD’s clauses on contract termination on grounds of fundamental breach of contract are not clear and strong enough like... Read the story »
Tourism sector addresses its odds
20 August 2010
Handicrafts shops are complaining that tour guides are charging them hefty commissions A consultative meeting among tourism stakeholders held recently discussed various tourism issues to help the tourism sector generate 25,000 jobs and contribute 15 percent to the country’s GDP by the end of 2013. The meeting addressed stakeholders’ grievances on many issues. Commissions for guides Taking... Read the story »
Bhutan to adopt more inclusive poverty index
20 August 2010
By next year, Bhutan will adopt Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), a new method of measuring poverty, replacing the traditional income-based (one dollar a day) method. Developed by Dr Sabina Alkire, the Director of Oxford Poverty Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and James Foster, OPHI research associate and professor of Economics and International Affairs at the George Washington University,... Read the story »
Education city taking shape
20 August 2010
Bhutan’s dream of an education city is taking a concrete shape. A five-member Education City Project Advisory Group (PAG) met with the chairperson of Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), Om Pradhan, yesterday to discuss the framing of the vision and implementation methodology for the project. The advisory group members, comprising leading educationists from India and Singapore, said that Bhutan’s... Read the story »
Long procedure cut short
15 August 2010
The cabinet, this week, approved the high level committee’s proposal to shorten the time for quarry leasing procedures from 17 months to 10 months. The seven-member committee was formed in May this year to address the problem of reported shortage of stones and stone chips for construction of infrastructure, service facilities, and private homes and institutes. The past lengthy procedure... Read the story »
Farmers receive help for windstorm damages
15 August 2010
Trashigang Dzongkhag distributed vegetable seeds worth Nu 20,000 to 198 households under Samkhar Gewog, which were affected by windstorm and heavy rainfall on July 27. The windstorm accompanied by heavy rainfall destroyed about 45.40 acres of maize and other crops in the gewog. 49,916 kg of maize worth Nu 450,000 was reportedly destroyed by the windstorm. Maize is one of the main cereal crops grown... Read the story »
Encouraging women to join politics
14 August 2010
Almost 50 percent of the country’s population is women, but their representation in the parliament is only 14 percent. In the local government, the figures are dismal. There is only one woman gup and four women tshogpas in the 205 gewogs. To persuade women to contest for the upcoming local government elections, a day-long advocacy programme was organized by the Institute of Management Services... Read the story »
Cabinet approves proposals
13 August 2010
The cabinet, this week, approved the proposals for culture track to accelerate Bhutan’s socio-economic development, the 2013 aspirations in the RNR sector to achieve the sector GDP contribution, and the establishment of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Division under the Department of Industry to support FDI promotion in the country. RNR sector aspirations The RNR sector will achieve the sector... Read the story »

