Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Thursday announced his decision to retire and devolve his "formal authority" to an elected leader.

The message from the revered Tibetan leader and 1989 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be read Monday, the first day of the budget session of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile starting at Mcleodganj, 10 km from this hill town, the abode of the Dalai Lama and hundreds of exiled Tibetans.