Harnoor Channi-Tiwary visited Bhutan and returned with a bagful of memories. Read on!
'When democracy first came to Bhutan people had no idea and they were like 'What is that?' Oh it's that thing they have in India where the leaders are always fighting and arguing.' When I screened the film to Bhutan's film committee, they thought my film was good but they were concerned about that line. They wanted me to change that line. They said, 'We don't want to offend India.' I tried to tell them that Indians have a great ability to laugh at themselves but they insisted I change it.'
The treaty not only reflects the contemporary nature of the relationship but also lays the foundation for its future development in the 21st century.
President Pratibha Patil wrapped up on a positive note her four-day visit to Bhutan, where she attended the coronation of the world's youngest monarch Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wanchuck, giving a fresh momentum to close bilateral ties.
The recent withdrawal of subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene to Bhutan, since revived, has raised the hackles in China, with a state-run daily saying India will not allow Bhutan to freely engage with it.
Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth are set to be invited to Modi's swearing-in ceremony.
Playing down its unsuccessful bid to establish diplomatic ties with Bhutan, China on Monday said it is glad to see New Delhi and Thimphu develop their relations further during the just-concluded visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I have come with a message that India stands ready to join hands with the people and the government of Bhutan to strengthen our relationship to do our bid for accelerated development of Bhutan," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters after he arrived on a two-day visit to the country. Dr Singh, who became the first international leader to visit Bhutan after it entered the club of democratic nations in March, received a warm reception at Paro International Airport.
India and Bhutan have decided to enhance security along their borders to check infiltration of militant groups of the north-east into the Himalayan nation.
India has managed to move a smaller share of its working-age population away from farm-related work than many of its neighbours. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal managed to shift a bigger share of jobs to non-agricultural work than India, shows data from the year 2000 to 2023 the compiled from the World Bank's April South Asia Development Update report. Only Pakistan and the Maldives show a lower shift among South Asian peers.
Taj Leisure Hotels will open its first property in Bhutan soon. Called Taj Tashi, the hotel will be set up in Thimphu at an investment of Rs 50 crore.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
The mortal remains of former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday amid the chanting of religious hymns. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter Upinder Singh.
In yet another instance of proactive economic diplomacy with Bhutan, a consortium of Indian banks led by the country's biggest lender SBI has come forward to take the lead role to finance efforts of industrialisation in the mountain kingdom.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for home from Bhutan, concluding his first foreign trip after assuming office last month. He was given a warm send off by Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and several of his cabinet colleagues at the Paro airport.
In April, 2014, the two countries had signed a framework agreement on four more JV-model HEPs totalling 2120MW.
In a sign of deepening bilateral ties, Bhutan Prime Minister Jigmi Y Thinley will arrive in New Delhi on a three-day visit during which he will hold talks with the top leadership on hydro-electric projects among other issues.
According to the CJI, once someone has a sense of faith in his/her intentions and abilities, it is easier not to obsess over outcomes but to value the process and the journey towards those outcomes.
Three weeks after taking over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Bhutan on Sunday on his first foreign visit to demonstrate the "special token of friendship" for the country.
Making Bhutan his first foreign destination, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday vowed to nurture bilateral relations which he described as 'B2B - Bharat to Bhutan'.
The union has sought clarification on the environmental impact of the project in the nearby areas of neighbouring Assam.
Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, have arrived in Bhutan for the start of a two day visit to the remote mountain kingdom. The couple touched down at Paro International Airport on Thursday morning.
Having already booked their place in the semifinals, a relaxed Indian women's team simply toyed with an out of sorts Bhutan, thrashing them 11-0 in their last group engagement of the SAFF Championship on Colombo on Tuesday.
A source in the earthquake observation centre at North East Institute of Science and Tenchnology (NEIST) of the CSIR located at Jorhat in Assam informed that the quake was measured at 4.7 on the Richter scale though initial reports put it at 6.3 on the scale.
The agreement signed between the Bhutan government and leading BPO firm Genpact on June 8 will help alleviate the unemployment situation in the country, according to labour and human resources minister Dorji Wangdi. According to the agreement, Genpact will recruit 200 Bhutanese graduates every year to be trained and employed in India.
India has provided 1,935 electronic voting machines to Bhutan for the country's second national elections to be held on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday embarked on a visit to Bhutan, his first foreign destination since he took over, with a focus on making development cooperation with the neighbouring country 'more effective'.
Bhutan, sandwitched between its giant neighbours India and China, on Monday became the world's 124th democracy as its people voted overwhelmingly in a historic general election, bringing the curtains down on a century of absolute monarchy. The election is a closely fought contest between two parties -- the People's Democratic Party and the Druk Phuensum Tshogpa.
The fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.
A five-time Olympic shooter, Randhir Singh was the lone eligible candidate for the OCA president's post.
Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmey Thinley on Monday said there were no militants from Assam in the Himalayan country and reiterated Bhutan's commitment to prevent any anti-Indian activities on its soil.During a brief stop-over at the Guwahati International Airport on his way to Thimphu, Thinley told reporters that as on date, there was no presence of any militant from the banned United Liberation Front of Assam or National Democratic Front of Bodoland in Bhutan.
India may be suffering from acute power problems. But it has addressed the power shortage in neighbouring Bhutan with the Tala hydroelectric project exceeding the power generation forecast.
Kohli spent the day with his wife in the mountains.
Bhutan's much-publicised royal wedding that will see King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck tying the nuptial knot with his childhood sweetheart Jetsun Pema began on Thursday morning amid chanting of hymns by Buddhist monks in the historical city of Punakha.
Apart from India, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also pulled out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, saying the environment is not right for the successful holding of the meet.
Withdrawing a blanket ban on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice, the government on Saturday imposed a floor price of $490 per tonne and exempted the commodity from export duty. Exports of non-basmati white rice have been banned since July 20, 2023 to boost domestic supply. "The export policy for non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or gazed) ...is amended from prohibited to free, subject to MEP (minimum export price) of $490 per tonne with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
Following news of bird flu outbreak in a poultry farm in West Bengal's Darjeeling, Bhutan is mulling a ban on import of chicken meat and eggs from India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India is committed to good neighbourly relations and assured Bhutan that a change in the government will not alter the dynamics of Indo-Bhutan ties.
