1.
Bhutan
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Bhutan, officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked country in Asia and the smallest state located entirely within the Himalaya mountain range. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it is bordered by China in the north, Bhutan lacks a border with nearby Nepal due to the Indian state of Sikkim and with Bangladesh due to the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam. Bhutan is geopolitically in South Asia and is the second least populous nation after the Maldives. Thimphu is its capital and largest city, while Phuntsholing is its financial center, the independence of Bhutan has endured for centuries and the territory was never colonized in its history. Situated on the ancient Silk Road between Tibet, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, the Bhutanese state developed a national identity based on Buddhism. Headed by a leader known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the territory was composed of many fiefdoms. Following a civil war in the 19th century, the House of Wangchuck reunited the country, Bhutan fostered a strategic partnership with India during the rise of Chinese communism and has a disputed border with the Peoples Republic of China. The King of Bhutan is known as the Dragon King, Bhutan is also notable for pioneering the concept of gross national happiness. The countrys landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the sub-alpine Himalayan mountains in the north. The highest mountain in Bhutan is the Gangkhar Puensum, which is also a candidate for the highest unclimbed mountain in the world. There is also diverse wildlife in Bhutan, in South Asia, Bhutan ranks first in economic freedom, ease of doing business and peace, second in per capita income and is the least corrupt country, as of 2016. However, Bhutan continues to be a least developed country, hydroelectricity accounts for the major share of its exports. The government is a parliamentary democracy, Bhutan maintains diplomatic relations with 52 countries and the European Union, but does not have formal ties with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. It is a member of the United Nations, SAARC, BIMSTEC, the Royal Bhutan Army maintains extensive military relations with the Indian Armed Forces. The precise etymology of Bhutan is unknown, although it is likely to derive from the Tibetan endonym Bod used for Tibet. Traditionally, it is taken to be a transcription of the Sanskrit Bhoṭa-anta end of Tibet, since the 17th century the official name of Bhutan has been Druk yul and Bhutan only appears in English-language official correspondence. Names similar to Bhutan — including Bohtan, Buhtan, Bottanthis, Bottan, jean-Baptiste Taverniers 1676 Six Voyages is the first to record the name Boutan. However, in case, these seem to have been describing not modern Bhutan
2.
Indian rupee
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The Indian rupee, is the official currency of the Republic of India. The rupee is subdivided into 100 paise, though as of 2011,25 paise is no more a legal tender, the issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India. The Reserve Bank manages currency in India and derives its role in management on the basis of the Reserve Bank of India Act,1934. The rupee is named after the coin, rupiya, first issued by Sultan Sher Shah Suri in the 16th century. In 2010, a new symbol ₹, was officially adopted and it was derived from the combination of the Devanagari consonant र and the Latin capital letter R without its vertical bar. The parallel lines at the top are said to make an allusion to the tricolour Indian flag, the first series of coins with the new rupee symbol started in circulation on 8 July 2011. On 8 November 2016 the Government of India announced the demonetisation of ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes with effect from midnight of the same day, a newly redesigned series of ₹500 banknote, in addition to a new denomination of ₹2000 banknote is in circulation since 10 November 2016. The new redesigned series is expected to be enlarged with banknotes in the denominations of ₹1000, ₹100. The word rupee was derived from the Sanskrit word रूप्यकम् or rupaya, the modern Indian rupee has a direct lineage from the rupiya, the silver coin, issued by Sher Shah Suri, continued by the Mughal rulers. Rūpa means to form or shape, example, Rūpyarūpa, rūpya — wrought silver, however, in the region of Bengal, the term taka has always been used to refer to currency. In the 14th century, Ibn Battuta noticed that people in the Bengal Sultanate referred to gold, today, the currency of Bangladesh is officially known as taka. The word taka in Bengali is also used generically to mean any money, currency. Thus, colloquially, a person speaking in Bengali may use taka to refer to money regardless of what currency it is denominated in, thus, in the states of West Bengal and Tripura the Indian rupee is officially known টাকা. Whereas, in the states of Assam and Odisha, the Indian rupee is known by names derived from the Sanskrit word ṭaṅka, টকা in Assamese. During his five-year rule from 1540 to 1545, Sultan Sher Shah Suri issued a coin of silver, weighing 178 grains, the silver coin remained in use during the Mughal period, Maratha era as well as in British India. Among the earliest issues of paper rupees include, the Bank of Hindustan, the General Bank of Bengal and Bihar, historically, the rupee was a silver coin. This had severe consequences in the century when the strongest economies in the world were on the gold standard. The discovery of large quantities of silver in the United States and several European colonies resulted in a decline in the value of relative to gold
3.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
4.
Cooch Behar
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Cooch Behar (/ˌkuːtʃ bᵻˈhɑːr/ is the district headquarters of the Cooch Behar District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas at 26°22′N 89°29′E, Cooch Behar is the only planned town in North Bengal region with remnants of royal heritage. One of the main tourist destinations in West Bengal, it is the location of the Cooch Behar Palace and it is the maternal home of Maharani Gayatri Devi. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the state of Koch Bihar. After 20 August 1949, Cooch Behar District was transformed from a state to its present status. The name Cooch Behar is derived from the name of the Koch or Rajbongshi tribes indigenous to this region for many centuries, the word behar is derived from Sanskrit, विहार vihara. Cooch Behar formed part of the Kamarupa Kingdom from the 4th to the 12th centuries, in the 12th century, the area became a part of the Kamata Kingdom, first ruled by the Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The Khens were a tribe, and they ruled till about 1498 CE, when they fell to Alauddin Hussain Shah. The new invaders fought with the local Bhuyan chieftains and the Ahom king Suhungmung, during this time, the Koch tribe became very powerful and proclaimed itself Kamateshwar and established the Koch dynasty. The first important Koch ruler was Biswa Singha, who came to power in 1510 or 1530 CE, under his son, Nara Narayan, the Kamata Kingdom reached its zenith. Nara Narayans younger brother, Shukladhwaj, was a military general who undertook expeditions to expand the kingdom. He became governor of its eastern portion, after Chilarais death, his son Raghudev became governor of this portion. Since Nara Narayan did not have a son, Raghudev was seen as the heir apparent, However, a late child of Nara Narayan removed Raghudevs claim to the throne. To placate him, Nara Narayan had to anoint Raghudev as a chief of the portion of the kingdom east of the Sankosh river. This area came to be known as Koch Hajo, after the death of Nara Narayan in 1584, Raghudev declared independence. The kingdom ruled by the son of Nara Narayan, Lakshmi Narayan, the division of the Kamata Kingdom into Koch Behar and Koch Hajo was permanent. As the early capital of the Koch Kingdom, Cooch Behars location was not static, Maharaja Rup Narayan, on the advice of an unknown saint, transferred the capital from Attharokotha to Guriahati on the banks of the Torsa river between 1693 and 1714. After this, the capital was always in or near its present location, in 1661 CE, Maharaja Pran Narayan planned to expand his kingdom
5.
Silver
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Silver is a metallic element with symbol Ag and atomic number 47. The symbol Ag stems from Latin argentum, derived from the Greek ὰργὀς, a soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. The metal is found in the Earths crust in the pure, free form, as an alloy with gold and other metals. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of copper, gold, lead, Silver is more abundant than gold, but it is much less abundant as a native metal. Its purity is measured on a per mille basis, a 94%-pure alloy is described as 0.940 fine. As one of the seven metals of antiquity, silver has had a role in most human cultures. Silver has long valued as a precious metal. Silver metal is used in many premodern monetary systems in bullion coins, Silver is used in numerous applications other than currency, such as solar panels, water filtration, jewelry, ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils, and as an investment medium. Silver is used industrially in electrical contacts and conductors, in specialized mirrors, window coatings, Silver compounds are used in photographic film and X-rays. Dilute silver nitrate solutions and other compounds are used as disinfectants and microbiocides, added to bandages and wound-dressings, catheters. Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two neighbours in group 11 of the periodic table, copper and gold. This distinctive electron configuration, with an electron in the highest occupied s subshell over a filled d subshell. Silver is a soft, ductile and malleable transition metal. Silver crystallizes in a cubic lattice with bulk coordination number 12. Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak and this observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of silver. Silver has a brilliant white metallic luster that can take a polish. Protected silver has greater optical reflectivity than aluminium at all wavelengths longer than ~450 nm, at wavelengths shorter than 450 nm, silvers reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310 nm. The electrical conductivity of silver is the greatest of all metals, greater even than copper, during World War II in the US,13540 tons of silver were used in electromagnets for enriching uranium, mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper
6.
Vajra
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Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond. Additionally, it is a weapon won in battle which is used as an object to symbolize both the properties of a diamond and a thunderbolt. The vajra is essentially a type of club with a spherical head. The ribs may meet in a top, or they may be separate. The use of the vajra as a symbolic and ritual tool spread from India along with Indian religion and culture to other parts of Asia. According to Asko Parpola, the Sanskrit Vajra- and Avestan Vazra- both refer to a weapon of the Godhead, and are possibly from the Proto-Indo-European root *weg- which means to be powerful, the earliest mention of the vajra is in the Rigveda, part of the four Vedas. It is described as the weapon of Indra, the chief among Gods, Indra is described as using the vajra to kill sinners and ignorant persons. The Rigveda states that the weapon was made for Indra by Tvastar, the associated story describes Indra using the vajra, which he held in his hand, to slay the asura Vritra, who took the form of a serpent. On account of his skill in wielding the vajra, some used for Indra in the Rigveda were Vajrabhrit, Vajrivat or Vajrin, Vajradaksina. The association of the Vajra with Indra was continued with some modifications in the later Puranic literature, buddhaghoṣa, a major figure of Theravada Buddhism in the 5th century, identified the Bodhisattva Vajrapani with Indra. Many later puranas describe the vajra, with the modified from the Rigvedic original. One major addition involves the role of the Sage Dadhichi, according to one account, Indra, the king of the deva was once driven out of devaloka by an asura named Vritra. Indra, who had lost all hope of recovering his kingdom was said to have approached Shiva who could not help him, Indra along with Shiva and Brahma went to seek the aid of Vishnu. Vishnu revealed to Indra that only the weapon made from the bones of Dadhichi would defeat Vritra, Indra and the other deva therefore approached the sage, whom Indra had once beheaded, and asked him for his aid in defeating Vritra. Dadhichi acceded to the devas request but said that he wished that he had time to go on a pilgrimage to all the rivers before he gave up his life for them. Indra then brought all the waters of the holy rivers to Naimisha Forest. Dadhichi is then said to have given up his life by the art of yoga after which the gods fashioned the vajrayudha from his spine and this weapon was then used to defeat the asura, allowing Indra to reclaim his place as the king of devaloka. Another version of the story exists where Dadhichi was asked to safeguard the weapons of the gods as they were unable to match the arcane arts being employed by the asura to obtain them
7.
Punakha Dzong
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The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong, is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan, Punakha Dzong was the administrative centre and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955, when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is listed as a site in Bhutans Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion. The Dzong is located at the confluence of the Pho Chhu, the source of the Mo chu river is in the northern hills of Lighsi and Laya in Bhutan, and in Tibet. The Po Chu River is fed by glaciers in the Lunana region of the Punakha valley, in view of the healthy climate in the region, Punakha is the winter capital of Bhutan. The head of the clergy of Bhutan with his entourage of monks spend the winter in this dzong, jacaranda trees grow around the dzong, blooming with mauve flowers in the spring. According to a legend, the sage Padmasambhava prophesized that “a person named Namgyal will arrive at a hill that looks like an elephant”. Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, found the peak of the hill, which appeared in the shape of trunk of an elephant as prophesized, in his dream, prompted by the psychic powers of the Zhabdrung, he had a clear vision of a palace for Guru Rinpoche. The vision was imprinted on the mind, enabling him to conceive the plan for the dzong without putting the vision on paper. On the basis of the vision of the architect, the building of the dzong was started in 1637 and completed in 1638. During this period, Ngawang Namgyal became the first leader of a unified Bhutan, the dzong was consecrated in the name of Pungthang Dechen Phodrang. In 1639, a chapel was erected to house the arms seized from the Tibetans who were defeated by the Bhutanese on this spot. The Zhabdrung also set up an order with 600 monks. The spire at the top of the utse was added in 1676 by Gyaltsen Tenzin Rabgye–the abbot of the dzong, further additions were made during the period 1744 to 1763, when Sherab Wangchuk was the ruler. A large thangka known as chenma thoundral of the Zhabdrung was donated to the Dzong by the Desi and this thangka is displayed during the tshechu held once a year here. The 7th Dalai Lama donated the roof for the dzong. The House of Wangchuck currently rules the country and this monarchy was established in 1907. The same year, Punakha Dzong was the site of the coronation of Ugyen Wangchuck as the first Druk Gyalpo, at that time, Punakha was the capital of Bhutan
8.
Trongsa Dzong
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Trongsa Dzong is the largest dzong fortress in Bhutan, located in Trongsa in Trongsa district, in the centre of the country. Built on a spur overlooking the gorge of the Mangde River, in 1647, his great-grandson Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, constructed the first dzong to replace it, called Chökhor Rabtentse Dzong with a shorter version of Choetse Dzong. It was enlarged several times during the 18th century, the Chenrezig Lhakang was built in 1715, the dzong has since been repaired on several occasions, it was damaged during the 1897 Assam earthquake and underwent extensive renovation in 1927 and 1999. Trongsa Dzong, the largest dzong at a location, is an important administrative building, providing the headquarters of the government of Trongsa District. It is also a monastic complex, with around 200 monks. During the summer months, the community often relocates to Kurje Monastery in the Bumthang Valley. It contains a printing house, responsible for the printing of many religious texts in Bhutan. ). It is listed as a site in Bhutans Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion. The Dzong and the town surrounding it are situated on a spur. This trackroute traverses through farms, deciduous forests, crosses side streams, the vegetation seen along the route consists of shrubs of edgeworthia, which are used for making paper. Fauna encountered on this route are mainly brown monkeys - the rhesus macaques, en route at Tashiling, a new Potala Lhakhang could be seen alongside a wrathful statue of Guru Rinpoche. The Potala Lhakhang was built in 2005 and is housing a 9 metres high statue of Chenresig, arriving at the head of the valley brings a spectacular view of the very large white Trashi Dzong. From Thimpu, the city on the west, the journey is by road, of about 7 hours. The road is aligned above the Dzong, passes through a vegetable market and this palace is where the late king Jigme Dorji Wangchuk was born in 1928. Trongsa means the new village in Bhutanese, which comprises retreats, one day he had been meditating nearby in a village called Yuling and witnessed a light at the furthest point of the spur. He believed this to be a sign and erected a temple on the spot, on a mountain spur high above the gorges of the Mangde Chhu. Note, the altitude is given as 2,300 metres by Dorje, another version for building a temple here is that Ngagi Wangchuk saw self manifest hoof prints of a horse that belonged to the Protector deity Palden Lhamo. He then decided to build a meditation centre, a tshamkhang
9.
Tashichho Dzong
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Tashichhoedzong is a Buddhist monastery and fortress on the northern edge of the city of Thimphu in Bhutan, on the western bank of the Wang Chu. It was built by the first Dharma Raja, who founded the Lho-drukpa sect of Buddhism. The correct transliteration of the vernacular name—Bkrashis-chhos-rdzong, meaning the fortress of auspicious doctrine—is, according to Dr. Graham Sandberg, the main structure of the whitewashed building is two-storied with three-storied towers at each of the four corners topped by triple-tiered golden roofs. There is also a central tower or utse. In 1641 Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal took over that Dzong from the Lhapa Kagyu, reconsecrated and it was then established as the main seat of the Southern Drukpa Kagyu and the summer residence of the monastic body or sangha headed by Shabdrung Rinpoche. Following the death of the Desi it was renamed Tashichö-dzong after the old Dzong, Tashichö Dzong was again destroyed by fire three different times as well seriously damaged by an earthquake. Each time it was rebuilt by the Desi and Je Khenpo of the time, only the central Utse tower, the Lhakhang Sarp, and main Gönkhang remain from the earlier Dzong. After its completion in 1968, the new Tashichö Dzong was consecrated by the 66th Je Khenpo Yonten Tarchin, the 16th Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpai Dorje, Tashichö Dzong has been the seat of Bhutans government since 1968. It presently houses the throne room and offices of the king, the cabinet secretariat, some other government departments are housed in buildings to the south of the Dzong, and others in new buildings in Thimphu. West of the dzong is a tower of Ney Khang Lhakhang which houses a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha. In 1953 the royal family took up residence in the newly built Dechencholing Palace, there are thirty temples, chapels and shrines within Tashichö-Dzong, Tashichodzong Trashicho Dzong Trekearth. com
10.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
11.
Jigme Singye Wangchuck
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Jigme Singye Wangchuck was the King of Bhutan from 1972 until his abdication in favour of his eldest son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, in 2006. He is credited with many reforms in the country and reigned through the ethnic cleansing in Bhutan. Jigme Singye Wangchuck was born at Dechencholing Palace, Thimphu on 11 November 1955, to Jigme Dorji Wangchuck and Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck. At the age of four, sometime in 1959, the young Crown Prince received the offerings of good wishes and respects by the public, monks, Wangchuck received western and traditional learning in various institutions. He began studying at Dechencholing Palace, when he was six years old, soon afterwards, he went to study at St Josephs College, Darjeeling, in India. In 1964, he attended Heatherdown Prep School in England where he completed his studies in 1969, the next phase of his formal education took place at Namselling Palace in 1969. Finally, he attended Ugyen Wangchuck Academy at Satsham Choten in Paro, in 1971, Wangchucks father appointed Wangchuck as the Chairman of Planning Commission, charged with the planning and co-ordination of the five year development plan. The following year, on June 16,1972, he was made the Tongsa Penlop bestowing on him directly the yellow scarf or namza, the 3rd Five-Year Plan, which spanned the period 1971-77, was in progress when his father died. Wangchuck was 16 at that time,1972 to 1976 was the period of the 3rd FYP, and 1976 to 1981 was the period of 4th FYP. In a public ceremony, the Royal Wedding of Wangchuck was held in Dechog Lhakhang in Punakha Dzong on 31 October 1988, previously, they had married privately in 1979. In his Coronation Address on June 2,1974, Jigme Singye stressed the need to attain self-reliance and preserve Bhutan’s sovereignty and he also stressed that any development undertaking should be a genuine collaboration between the people and the government. During the 1970s, immediate aims for rural households unfolded in terms of intensive valley projects, cash crops cultivation, especially potatoes – irrigation, enhancing the income and livelihood of the rural people were the main focus of the 3rd and 4th FYPs. Soon after he acceded to the throne, Jigme Singye launched the Tashigang and Tsirang Intensive Valley Development Projects in 1972 and these projects were part of a larger vision of food self-sufficiency and income generation. Encouraged by the achievements in the Tashigang and Tsirang Intensive Valley Projects, similar projects were replicated in Mongar. These projects were also sites of experimental and participatory decision making and it led to the formation of Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogchungs, which brought the chimis, gups and officials to prepare plans together. By 1981, Tashigang and Tsirang had fully functional DYTs, beginning with the large-scale production in Khaling and Chapcha, potatoes become a key export crop, reaching 60,000 tonnes, grown by over 10,725 households by 2006. In southern Bhutan, the focus was on growing citrus fruits, for example, in 1977, the King encouraged the people of Dagana to start cardamom and orange plantations. The social and economic indicators point towards sub-ordinate goals, not ultimate goals which was to be measured from a holistic, happiness and contentment became the ultimate yardstick of progress
12.
Economy of Bhutan
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The economy of Bhutan, one of the worlds smallest and least developed countries, is based on agriculture and forestry, which provide the main livelihood for more than 60% of the population. Agriculture consists largely of farming and animal husbandry. Rugged mountains dominate the terrain and make the building of roads and other infrastructure difficult, the economy is closely aligned with Indias through strong trade and monetary links and dependence on Indias financial assistance. Most production in the sector is of the cottage industry type. Most development projects, such as construction, rely on Indian migrant labour. Model education, social, and environment programs are underway with support from multilateral development organisations, each economic program takes into account the governments desire to protect the countrys environment and cultural traditions. For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, detailed controls and uncertain policies in areas such as industrial licensing, trade, labour, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. Hydropower exports to India have boosted Bhutans overall growth, even though GDP fell in 2008 as a result of a slowdown in India, its predominant export market. This is a chart of trend of gross product of Bhutan at market prices by the International Monetary Fund, Bhutans hydropower potential. The Bhutanese Government has made progress in expanding the nations productive base. Model education, social, and environment programs in Bhutan are underway with support from multilateral development organisations, each economic program takes into account the governments desire to protect the countrys environment and cultural traditions. For example, the government, in its cautious expansion of the tourist sector, encourages visits by upscale, detailed controls and uncertain policies in such areas as industrial licensing, trade, labour, and finance continue to hamper foreign investment. In 2004, Bhutan became the first country in the world to ban smoking and this article incorporates public domain material from the United States Department of State website http, //www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index. htm. Global Economic Prospects, Growth Prospects for South Asia The World Bank,13 December 2006
Bhutan (alongside Indian Rupee)
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