{"id":28244,"date":"2026-11-02T12:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T07:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=28244"},"modified":"2026-11-02T14:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T09:28:15","slug":"gelephu-mindfulness-city-gmc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/gelephu-mindfulness-city-gmc\/","title":{"rendered":"Gelephu Mindfulness City: Bhutan&#8217;s 2,500 Sq Km Smart City Project Near India"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Gelephu Mindfulness City Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bhutan\u2019s King recently dedicated one of the 108 Buddhist stupas erected in a nine-hour construction feat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of appreciation for India\u2019s support for the country\u2019s Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) project. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>About Gelephu Mindfulness City\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a transformative project to create a <\/span><b>new city <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the foothills of the Himalayas in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/india-bhutan-relations-strengthening-timeless-ties\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Bhutan<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This visionary city aspires to <\/span><b>redefine urban development<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><b>placing mindfulness,<\/b> <b>well-being, sustainability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>cultural integrity at its core.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The GMC project has been <\/span><b>envisioned <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by the <\/span><b>King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Located in<\/span><b> Bhutan\u2019s southern plains bordering<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the State of <\/span><b>Assam <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in India and spanning over 4,046 sq.km., or 10% of Bhutan, GMC was <\/span><b>established by Royal Charter<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in February <\/span><b>2024 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as a <\/span><b>highly autonomous Special Administrative Region (SAR).\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Through this Royal mandate, GMC is <\/span><b>accorded full executive and legislative powers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with an <\/span><b>independent judiciary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, to govern the SAR separate from the Royal Government of Bhutan.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the <\/span><b>direct guidance of the King<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, GMC will be <\/span><b>run by global and local talents <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to build an advanced economy by adopting and adapting the best governing policies and business practices from around the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Gelephu Mindfulness City <\/b><b>Features<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The masterplan for &#8220;Gelephu Mindfulness City&#8221; shows a <\/span><b>low- to-mid-rise metropolis built around <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a series of <\/span><b>inhabitable bridges.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Each of the bridges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was designed to be combined with cultural, educational, recreational and infrastructure functions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Each bridge will &#8220;house&#8221; key features<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the city: a <\/span><b>new international airport<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a <\/span><b>university<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a<\/span><b> health-care facility <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for Eastern and Western medicine, a <\/span><b>hydroponic greenhouse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a cultural center, a spiritual center, a <\/span><b>market for local goods<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and a <\/span><b>hydroelectric dam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, according to the plan.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The planned city will have <\/span><b>eleven &#8220;ribbonlike neighborhoods<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8221; that incorporate the area&#8217;s <\/span><b>35 rivers and streams.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Neighborhoods <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will be<\/span><b> designed like mandalas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with repeated patterns <\/span><b>organized around a central public space.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>To protect against flooding, paddy fields<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will be <\/span><b>built along the rivers,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cforming urban terraces that cascade down from the hills to the valley,\u201d. These will further function as biodiversity corridors for local flora and fauna.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The GMC will have two protected areas \u2013 a national park and a wildlife sanctuary.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>News: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/bhutan-builds-108-stupas-in-9-hours-dedicates-no-76-to-pm-modi\/article71653715.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>TH<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bhutan&#8217;s Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) is an ambitious 2,500 sq km urban development project planned near the Assam border. Envisioned by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the Special Administrative Region aims to combine sustainable infrastructure, economic growth and mindfulness. Designed with an international airport, eco-friendly neighbourhoods and green spaces, GMC is expected to strengthen regional connectivity and economic cooperation with India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":131653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11297,21,22,23],"class_list":["post-28244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","tag-gelephu-mindfulness-city","tag-prelims-pointers","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-prelims-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28244"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131699,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28244\/revisions\/131699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}