Bhutan trains officials in city B-school

When Thimpu wanted to send its officials from their ministry of finance for training in accounting and finance, Bhutan did not look too far away from home. They now save their precious foreign exchange that was being spent on officials being sent to the US or UK for training.

They found a cheaper option, an institute in Bangalore "� the Institute of Finance and International Management (IFIM). A batch consists of upto 15 trainees and it costs the kingdom about Rs 60,000 per official.

The IFIM now conducts three-month-long customised certificate programme in accounting and finance for Bhutanese officials. With the tenth batch now undergoing training, the institute has come a long way. Upto three batches of officials from Bhutan undergo training every year at the IFIM.

Director of the institute R K Vijayasarathy said, "The Bhutan government sponsors the programme every year and chose the institute for its inherent strengths. It is the only institute in India that has hosted such a programme for Bhutan."

"The programme will add value to our present set of skills with integration of theory and practice through live projects," said a Bhutanese official from the ministry of finance of Bhutan Business Standard spoke to.

"The visits to the sales tax, commercial tax departments and public sector organisations help us get a first hand knowledge of the public accounting system," added his colleague.

The course has been structured such that it caters to both graduates and non-graduates, said Vijayasarthy.

Besides, IFIM conducted a certificate programme in commercial accounting for officials from the Bhutan Power Corporation.