Connecting Bhutan

January 22, 2010Posted inMiscellaneous, Villages2 Comments
Many of you would have noticed that I was able to regularly update this blog during my recent visit to Sombaykha and Gakiling. And, that I was able to tweet about my experiences there. Romeo, a regular commentator, was sufficiently impressed to remark: It is indeed incredible that you are connected through out your trek and able to keep us informed of your whereabouts and also update your informative blog. How is this possible? Are you carrying your laptop along and that you are connected through satellite to the internet? Hasn’t Bhutan progressed in terms of communication? Yes, it…

Connectivity for ICT businesses

April 6, 2009Posted inEconomy
In my last entry I celebrated the government’s promise to make Bhutan an attractive destination for ICT businesses. I am truly excited at the prospects of using ICT to strengthen our economy, create much needed jobs and generated revenue, all while safeguarding our brand-image as a country that’s serious about gross national happiness.But yesterday I was reminded that our government will need to do a lot of work if ICT is to become a viable business in Bhutan. This is especially so if we want to attract foreign investment to spearhead the development of ICT businesses.What happened yesterday? I…

A second chance…

December 5, 2008Posted inEmployment, Government
During the Nasscom annual strategy meeting held in Thimphu last week, Narayana Murthy, Infosys Chairman, announced that he would train 100 Bhutanese in his company. The offer is timely and, if used well, would be the first significant step towards creating the knowledge and skills base required to develop a viable ICT industry in Bhutan.A similar offer was made by Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's PM, during his visit to Bhutan in June 2005. The visiting PM "…commended the Bhutanese's versatility with the English language…" and publicly announced that he would be prepared to employ many Bhutanese as English teachers in…