Bhutan Civil Service Main Examination (General Category) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Constitution adoption date

Bhutan's Constitution was adopted on 18 July 2008, establishing a democratic constitutional monarchy and superseding earlier royal decrees and interim arrangements.

National Assembly size

The National Assembly (Tshogdu) consists of 47 members elected from single-member constituencies, with a five-year term and a Speaker chosen from among them.

National Council composition

The National Council has 20 elected members, one from each dzongkhag, plus 5 eminent persons appointed by the King, serving five-year terms.

GNH four pillars

Gross National Happiness rests on four pillars: sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, environmental conservation, preservation and promotion of culture, and good governance.

Bhutan UN membership

Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971 and is a founding member of SAARC (1985) and a member of BIMSTEC since 2004.

Carbon negative status

Bhutan is carbon negative because its forests absorb more carbon dioxide than the country emits; the Constitution mandates at least 60 percent forest cover permanently.

Punakha Dzong builder

Punakha Dzong was built in 1637 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal and serves as the winter residence of the Je Khenpo and the central monastic body.

Ngultrum peg

The ngultrum (BTN) is Bhutan's currency and is pegged at par to the Indian rupee, which also circulates as legal tender within Bhutan.

Uchen script

Dzongkha is written in Uchen, a block script of the Tibetan family with 30 base consonants and vowel signs placed above, below, or beside letters.

Dzongkha word order

Dzongkha sentences follow Subject–Object–Verb order, with case particles such as '-gi' (genitive) and '-la' (dative/locative) attached to nouns.

Honorific register zhe-sa

Dzongkha's honorific register, zhe-sa, uses distinct vocabulary for the King, clergy, and elders, for example 'zhu' (honorific eat) versus 'za' (ordinary eat).

Dzongkha Development Commission

The Dzongkha Development Commission, established in 1968, standardizes orthography, publishes dictionaries, and coins new terminology for the national language.

Dzongkha national language status

Article 1, Section 8 of the 2008 Constitution declares Dzongkha the national language; it is taught in schools and used in official correspondence.

Dzongkha verb tense suffixes

Dzongkha marks tense with suffixes: '-mi' for present or future habitual actions and '-pa/-ba' for past perfective, with auxiliaries showing aspect and politeness.

Chöke classical Tibetan

Chöke is classical Tibetan used in religious texts and historically as a literary language; modern Dzongkha orthography reflects spoken pronunciation more closely.

Subject-verb agreement rule

Indefinite pronouns such as each, everyone, and somebody take singular verbs; 'none' may take singular or plural depending on emphasis in the sentence.

Dangling modifier

A dangling modifier occurs when the implied subject of a participial phrase differs from the main clause subject, as in 'Walking to school, the rain soaked him.'

Parallel structure

Parallel structure requires items in a list or comparison to share grammatical form, e.g., 'to read, to write, and to calculate' rather than mixed forms.

Comma splice

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; correct it with a semicolon, a coordinating conjunction, or a period.

Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood appears in hypothetical or contrary-to-fact clauses ('If I were king') and after verbs like suggest or demand ('He demanded that she be present').

Affect versus effect

'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence, while 'effect' is usually a noun meaning result; confusing them is a common usage error.

Active voice preference

Active voice generally strengthens official writing: 'The committee approved the budget' is preferred to 'The budget was approved by the committee' unless the actor is unknown.

Essay thesis placement

A clear thesis belongs in the introduction; each body paragraph develops one idea with evidence, and the conclusion synthesizes rather than repeats the introduction.

Weberian bureaucracy

Max Weber's bureaucratic model features hierarchy, written rules, impersonal application, merit-based appointment, and clear division of labor in public administration.

New Public Management

New Public Management applies market principles to government: performance measurement, decentralization, competition, and customer orientation in public service delivery.

Fiscal versus monetary policy

Fiscal policy uses government spending and taxation; monetary policy controls money supply and interest rates, in Bhutan managed by the Royal Monetary Authority.

Hierarchy of legal norms

The Constitution ranks above legislation, which ranks above rules and regulations; the Supreme Court exercises judicial review over their consistency.

Bhutan physiographic zones

Bhutan has three physiographic zones: the southern foothills (Duars), the inner Himalayan valleys, and the high northern ranges, each with distinct climate and agriculture.

Zhabdrung unification

Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal unified Bhutan in the 17th century, establishing the dual system of religious and secular governance and building fortified dzongs.

Sociological perspectives

Functionalism emphasizes social stability, conflict theory highlights power and inequality, and symbolic interactionism focuses on meaning in everyday social interaction.

Optional answer structure

Optional-paper answers should define key terms, present a structured argument with headings, cite relevant theory or data, and conclude with a balanced judgment.

Monarchy established 1907

The Wangchuck monarchy was established in 1907 when Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was enthroned as the first hereditary King of Bhutan, unifying the country politically.