BBSCL

After four rounds of negotiations, Bhutan and Thailand signed the Free Trade Agreement today. The agreement allows the two countries to trade goods without paying customs duties on each other’s products. A customs duty is the tax imposed on imported goods. Thailand is the fourth largest trading partner of Bhutan. Ahead of the Sixth BIMSTEC Summit, which starts tomorrow, Industry,...

Residents of Dechencholing in Thimphu are still grappling with the aftermath of last year’s flood. The road remains unrepaired, forcing people to live with choking dust and poor road conditions. Despite the ongoing struggles, authorities have yet to provide any clear answers on when repairs will begin. 36-year-old Ambhika Devi Darjee runs a restaurant beside the road that has remained...

Local leaders in Chhukha, especially of larger gewogs, are worried about the decline in their block grant budget for the 13th Five-Year Plan. During the recent Dzongkhag Tshogdu, they raised concerns over the Resource Allocation Formula used in distributing the grant. They said that it will widen the economic development gap between larger and smaller gewogs. The local leaders are...

The Thimphu Thromde has submitted a budget proposal to the finance ministry for an automated parking fee collection system in the capital. The infrastructure and transport minister disclosed this during yesterday's Meet the Press session. He was responding to a media query on whether the government plans to introduce a system similar to the one recently implemented in Phuentshogling. At...