Dhondup was born in 1960 during his parents' escape to exile from Tibet after 1959 Tibetan uprising.

[1] He obtained Bachelor of Commerce degree at Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1983.

He obtained a master's degree in Commerce at Himachal Pradesh University in 1993.

In fall 1993 with a Fulbright Scholarship, he studied Business Management for one year at the University of Montana, United States.

[1] He returned to India in October 1994, where he continued to work for the Central Tibetan Administration.