Programme Name: BCS

Course Code: MGMT 1210

Course Name: Organization Management

Assignment: Individual Project

Date of Submission: 12 January 2022

Submitted By: Submitted To:

Student Name: Achyut Neupane Faculty Name: Durga Prasad Acharya

IUKL ID: 042103900002 Department: PO

Semester: 1st Semester

Intake: September 2021

 RESEARCH REPORT ON
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, LEGAL, AND CULTURAL ASPECTS
OF BHUTAN

Prepared By
Achyut Neupane

12 Jan 2022

Submitted To
Durga Prasad Acharya
 TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION 1

2. THE COUNTRY OF HAPPINESS 1

3. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 2

4. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT 2

5. LEGAL ENVIRONMENT 2

6. CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT 3

7. LIMITATIONS 3

8. CONCLUSION 3
1. Introduction
Bhutan is a small, landlocked country characterized by steep mountains and deep valleys.
Bhutan has transformed itself to growing low middle-income country from being a closed
economic country despite the challenging geography, and limited connectivity to
international market.
Þ Bhutan is surrounded by two giant neighbors, India and China.
Þ The King is the head of the state and Prime Minister is the head of the government.
Þ The most common languages spoken are Dzongkha and Nepali. Dzongkha is the
national language whereas Nepali is used due to many people from Nepali root still
stays there.

2. The Country of Happiness

“Happiness is the concern of everyone”.
Bhutan has its own degree of measuring growth: GNH. GNH stands for Gross National
Happiness. This concept was introduced in 1972 and is given more priority than GDP (Gross
Domestic Product). GNH is the useful tool than can be used for making and creating policies,
for government, NGOs, and businesses.
The reasons behind Bhutan being a country of happiness are:
Þ No Beggars
® Bhutan, despite being an average country, has few beggars in streets. They
have an interesting system of allotting a piece of land to the person, if he/she
loses the land.
Þ Free Education
® The state sponsors education of every kid till 10th Standard. Free education in
high school is provided by merit.
Þ No Tobacco
® Bhutan is the first country to ban cigarette completely. If someone wants to
import cigarette, they have to take a permit, pay 100% sales tax and 100%
custom duty. So, it becomes non-affordable.
Þ Free Healthcare
® Bhutan provides free healthcare to their citizens. Although complicated
diseases cannot be treated there and have to seek into other countries,
common diseases are cured for free.
Þ Carbon Negative
® Bhutan is a carbon negative country, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide
than it produces. There is a strict law to keep at least 60% land as forest.
Currently, 72% of Bhutan’s land is covered by forest.

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3. Economic Environment
Bhutan is considered to be the world’s fastest growing economies with steadily growing
GDP over the year. They have made tremendous progress in reducing poverty. They have
closed economy that allow them to open up local business, entrepreneurships, which brings
more income to local.
Their economy is highly dependent on hydropower, agriculture and tourism. Other industry
sectors they adopted are: Cement, wood work, etc. 80% of the population of Bhutan with
over 95% of earning women are involved in Agricultural sector.
As of end of 2018, GDP of Bhutan is 2.842 billion US Dollar. The economy of Bhutan
increased by 1.8% in FY20/21. In this fiscal year, the average inflation increased from 3.0 to
8.2%.
Their currency is called Ngultrum (BTN) and symbolized by Nu. 1 ngultrum is divided into
100 Chhertum.

4. Political Environment
Political parties were illegal in Bhutan until 2007. The ban was lifted and after that, Bhutan
has been on Monarchy since 2008. The King is the head of the state whereas Prime Minister
is the head of the government.
The religion and politics stay in harmony. Religion head examines the law or rule that is to
be passed.
The parliament has 47-member National assembly and 25-members National council.
Bhutan adopted constitutional monarchy instead of absolute monarchy in 2008. The citizens
casted vote for the first time to select new Parliament. Jigme Thinley was the first Prime
Minister to be elected democratically.
Bhutan has diplomatic relation with 54 of the 193 countries of United Nations. Along with
International Monetary Fund, World Bank, WHO, UNESCO, and SAARC, Bhutan is the
member of 45 international organizations.
Bhutan has established good relation with Nepal since 1983. Both being Himalayan
countries, both are landlocked and share border with same two giants, China and India.

5. Legal Environment
In Bhutan, people approach the King for any problems. King is very important to the legal
system of Bhutan. The Bi-cameral parliament of Bhutan consist of the King (Upper house)
and the National assembly (Lower house). The Council of Ministers aid the King in his daily
functions.
The Legislature, Judiciary, and Executive are the three organs of the Bhutanese government,
and Article 1(13) of the Constitution assures that all these three agencies are completely
separated.

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6. Cultural Environment
Bhutan is the country that decided to not chase the money and business, but go for
happiness. People of Bhutan are highly sensitive of their cultural belief. They are completely
happy with not being influenced by western culture. They highly believe that
modernizations are not as westernization.
Bhutan is a Buddhist country and has a different culture than most of other Buddhist
countries. Bhutanese live by their religious values. Hillsides, monasteries entrance, and most
of the sacred places are covered with colorful prayer flags. Monks resides in the
monasteries located in high mountains. They are admitted to the monasteries at the age of
6 or 9.
The most important culture of Bhutan is Tshechu. Tshechu falls on the particular day of
Lunar month and lasts for 3-5 days.
Various artforms, and architecture are essential features that makes Bhutanese culture
apart from others. Sloped roofs, earthen walls, and wooden works, are the essential
Bhutanese artworks.

7. Limitations
Bhutan is said to be the world’s biggest creator of Refugees by per capita. In 90s, to
preserve their unique identity, they expelled Lhotshampas, who spoke Nepali language and
covered 1/6 of total Bhutanese population. Those Bhutanese refugees stayed in refugee
camps between India and Nepal.
The expulsion of Lhotshampas was not an overnight plan. Bhutanese government, being
under Bhutanese citizenship act of 1958 and 1985 combined, provided citizenship to
Lhotshampas in 1958. But later, that year was declared as the cut-off point. Bhutanese
government announced that the citizens who can’t provide proof of residency until 1958 are
declared illegal immigrants. Also, those who could provide the proof were also evicted.

8. Conclusion
Bhutan, being a happy country is the country to visit also for their rich-in-culture
environment. Living in harmony with their environment makes it a biodiversity hotspot in
the world. The beauty of Bhutan is difficult to be described in words but each word used
while describing stands true.

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 Bibliography

[1] S. Zubiri, "The key to Bhutan's happiness," 21 September 2021. [Online]. Available:
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210920-the-key-to-bhutans-happiness.
[2] T. Mullen, "Why Bhutan Is Still Out Of This World," 27 February 2018. [Online].
Available: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tmullen/2018/02/27/why-bhutan-is-still-out-
of-this-world.
[3] S. Anand, "Bhutan Opens Itself to the World - and Tourists," 15 October 2019. [Online].
Available: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-10-15/bhutan-
opens-itself-to-the-world-and-tourists.
[4] M. Mørch, "Bhutan’s Dark Secret: The Lhotshampa Expulsion," 21 September 2016.
[Online]. Available: https://thediplomat.com/2016/09/bhutans-dark-secret-the-
lhotshampa-expulsion/.
[5] Dr. Md. Ershadul Karim;Chhime Tshoke Dorjee, "Legal System of the Kingdom of
Bhutan," October 2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Bhutan1.html.