Gelephu Gewog

Labour and Employment Act of Bhutan 2007

The Labour and Employment Act of Bhutan 2007 is the foundational statute governing employment relations in Bhutan. Enacted by the National Assembly in early 2007 and commenced in February 2007, it consolidated earlier labour rules, prohibited forced and compulsory labour, set the framework for working hours, leave, wages, contracts, dispute resolution, child labour, and foreign workers, and provided the legal basis under which the long-standing system of compulsory rural-public-works labour known as woola was wound down in 2009.

Bhutan Diplomatic Relations: A Comprehensive Overview

Bhutan maintains diplomatic relations with 58 countries and the European Union as of 2025, making it one of the most diplomatically selective nations in the world. The kingdom has no relations with any permanent member of the UN Security Council and relies on India as its primary diplomatic partner. Bhutan joined the United Nations in 1971 and is an active member of SAARC, BIMSTEC, and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Thimphu and the question of traffic lights

The story of why Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, has no functioning traffic lights, including the brief mid-1990s installation at the Norzin Lam junction, the public reaction that led to its removal, and the use of a hand-signalling traffic policeman as the city's central traffic-control system today.

Project 108 (108 Jangchub Chortens, Gelephu)

Project 108 is a royal initiative announced by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on 21 February 2026 to raise 108 Jangchub Chortens — each 15 metres tall and spaced 108 metres apart — in a single coordinated day along the Mau Chhu in Gelephu Mindfulness City. The structures of all 108 chortens are to be completed together on 1 November 2026, drawing on the Bhutanese tradition of zhabto and an estimated 40,000 volunteers.

What Kind of People Gut the Arts?

When the Royal University of Bhutan abolished its Arts and Humanities programmes in 2022–23, it stranded thousands of students and broke its own decentralised charter. An editorial from the BhutanWiki Editorial Team on what the Arts are for, why “no demand” was never true, how a sixty-year-old college in Kalimpong still does what Bhutan now refuses to, and how the happiest country on earth came to decide that poetry does not pay.

Climate and Weather of Bhutan

Bhutan's climate varies dramatically from subtropical in the southern foothills to alpine in the northern highlands, shaped by the country's extreme altitudinal range from approximately 100 metres to over 7,500 metres. The Indian monsoon dominates the rainfall pattern, delivering the bulk of annual precipitation between June and September. Understanding Bhutan's climate zones is essential for visitors, researchers, and policymakers concerned with agriculture, biodiversity, and the growing impacts of climate change.

The Happiest Country On Earth Is Running Out Of Bhutanese

The Royal Government has just confirmed it will pay families Nu 10,000 a month (around USD 105) for every third child, because the birth rate has collapsed and the young will not stay. An editorial from the BhutanWiki Editorial Team on the Gross National Happiness brand versus the youth exodus, the TV and internet ban, the 1985 Citizenship Act and the Lhotshampa expulsion, and the policy machinery that produced both.

Bhutanese Ngultrum: A Practical Guide

The Bhutanese ngultrum (BTN), introduced in 1974, is the official currency of the Kingdom of Bhutan. Pegged at par (1:1) to the Indian rupee, which also circulates freely throughout the country, the ngultrum is issued by the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan. This article provides practical information for visitors and researchers on denominations, exchange, ATM availability, and the day-to-day use of money in Bhutan.

Hydropower in Bhutan

Hydropower is Bhutan's most valuable natural resource and largest export, with an estimated potential of 30,000 megawatts. Developed primarily through bilateral partnerships with India, major projects including Chhukha (336MW), Tala (1,020MW), and Mangdechhu (720MW) generate the bulk of government revenue, though the sector's Indian-financed debt and environmental concerns present ongoing challenges.

What If Gelephu Fails?

Gelephu Mindfulness City is a roughly USD 100 billion bet — about thirty times Bhutan's GDP — staked on a single city. An editorial from the BhutanWiki Editorial Team on the scale of the wager and the NEOM cautionary tale, the Lhotshampa land the project rises on, the “voluntary” zhabtog labour that could have been paid jobs, and the question underneath it all: if open rules can build one city, why not the whole country?

Bhutan for Indian Tourists — A Complete Guide

Indian nationals enjoy a special relationship with Bhutan that makes travel significantly easier and cheaper than for other international visitors. Indians do not pay the US$100 SDF but instead pay INR 1,200 per night as a regional development fee. They can enter overland through Phuntsholing with just a voter ID or passport, and can travel independently without a tour operator in many areas. This guide covers everything specific to Indian visitors.

Gelephu Mindfulness City

Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) is a planned special administrative region of approximately 2,500 square kilometres in Sarpang Dzongkhag, southern Bhutan. Announced by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck on 17 December 2023 and established by Royal Charter on 13 February 2024, it is masterplanned by Bjarke Ingels Group and intended as a carbon-negative economic hub governed by a hybrid legal system drawn from Singaporean and Abu Dhabi law.

Cost of travel to Bhutan

A breakdown of what visiting Bhutan actually costs in 2024 to 2026, including the Sustainable Development Fee, regional rates, on-the-ground hotel and food costs, and the legal framework set by the Tourism Levy Act 2022 and its 2023 amendment.

Damphu

Damphu (Dzongkha: དམ་ཕུག) is the capital town of Tsirang District in south-central Bhutan, situated at approximately 1,520 metres elevation on a ridge overlooking the Sunkosh River valley. A small but strategically located administrative centre, Damphu serves as the gateway between the highlands of central Bhutan and the subtropical lowlands of the south.

Bhutan National Budget 2025–2026

The National Budget for Financial Year 2025–26, presented in May 2025 under the second Tshering Tobgay government, was the second annual budget of the 13th Five-Year Plan and a record at Nu 138.5 billion in proposed appropriation. Framed under the theme "Accelerating Prosperity and Social Transformation through Enterprise, Innovation, and Efficiency," it raised social-sector spending, ramped up Gelephu Mindfulness City funding and introduced a new Goods and Services Tax framework that came into force in January 2026.

Fintech and virtual assets in Gelephu Mindfulness City

Gelephu Mindfulness City, the special administrative region in southern Bhutan, is positioning itself as a regulated hub for fintech and digital-asset firms, offering combined licensing and banking under its own financial regulator and courting companies such as Bitdeer and Nansen.

Bhutan Bitcoin reserve drawdown (2025–2026)

Between mid-2025 and mid-2026 the Kingdom of Bhutan ran down the large Bitcoin reserve it had built through state-run, hydropower-powered mining — a series of transfers that on-chain analysts valued at roughly one billion US dollars, cutting the holding from about 13,000 to around 3,100 bitcoin. Druk Holding and Investments, the sovereign investment arm holding the coins, publicly disputed that it had sold any, leaving the reserve's status unclear.

Tax and incentive regime of Gelephu Mindfulness City

The fiscal framework of Gelephu Mindfulness City, which since 2025 has operated a tax system distinct from the rest of Bhutan, with a 17 per cent headline corporate rate, zero capital gains and dividend tax, sector-specific zero-tax holidays, USD-denominated assessment, and a separate customs and sales-tax regime.

Gelephu Mindfulness City: Economic Analysis

An examination of the economic dimensions of Gelephu Mindfulness City, including the $100 billion cost estimate relative to Bhutan's $3.4 billion GDP, the country's existing hydropower debt burden exceeding 100% of GDP, its limited FDI track record, the cryptocurrency-based funding mechanisms, the tax haven structure importing Singapore and Abu Dhabi law, labor market constraints, and questions about who benefits from the development.

Bhutan

Bhutan (Dzongkha: འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul, "Land of the Thunder Dragon"), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas of South Asia. Bordered by China to the north and India to the south, east, and west, Bhutan covers 38,394 square kilometres and has a population of approximately 790,000. The capital and largest city is Thimphu.