Exam View: Nutrient-Based Subsidy; Data reveal on fertilisers; The cost of imbalance fertilisation; Solutions.

Context: None of the measures taken by the government to control the use of Urea by checking illegal diversion for non-agricultural use, use of smaller bags, and increasing nitrogen use efficiency, have succeeded in reducing urea consumption.

Background: Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS)

• The government fixes a per-kg subsidy for each nutrient. The earlier regime had a product-specific subsidy.
• It was intended to promote balanced fertilisation by discouraging farmers from applying too much urea (46% N), di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) (46% P plus 18% N) and muriate of potash (MOP) (60% K). These are fertilisers with high content of a single nutrient.
• NBS was expected to induce product innovation and more use of complex fertilisers (having lower concentrations of N, P, K and S in different proportions) and SSP (containing only 16% P but also 11% S).

Decoding the editorial: Data reveal

• Sales of urea:
  • It crossed a record 35.7 million tonnes (mt) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023.
• Trend reversal from 2018-19:
  • Consumption decreased in the two years after neem-coating was fully enforced from December 2015 as it rendered useless the diversion of the heavily subsidised fertiliser to industries like plywood, textile dye and synthetic milk makers.
  • Urea sales in 2022-23 were about 5.1 mt higher than in 2015-16 and over 9 mt than in 2009-10, before the introduction of the so-called nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime in April 2010.
• Worsening of nutrient imbalance:
  • This has been largely courtesy of its maximum retail price (MRP) going up by a mere 16.5% post the introduction of NBS.
  • In the last one year, the government has also brought back price controls on DAP.

The cost of imbalanced fertilisation

• Crop yield response to fertiliser use has more than halved:
  • During the Green Revolution, scientists bred semi-dwarf crop varieties that did not bend or fall over (“lodge”) when their ear-heads were heavy with well-filled grains. These could, then, “tolerate” fertiliser application and produce more grain with higher doses.
  • However, with time, 1 kg of NPK nutrients yielded 12.1 kg of cereal grains in India during the 1960s, but only 5 kg during the 2010s.
  • The underlying reason has been the disproportionate application of N by farmers.
• A decline in the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE):
  • The NUE in India has fallen from 48.2% in 1962-63 to 34.7% in 2018. So when Indian farmers are applying 100 kg of N, hardly 35 kg is now being utilised, with the balance 65 kg unavailable to the plant.

• Environmental Pollution:
  • The remaining un-utilised Nitrogen escapes from the soil-plant system through hydrolysis (breakdown of urea into ammonia gas and its release into the atmosphere) and nitrification (below-the-ground leaching after conversion into nitrate).

The solutions

• Raising prices:
  • The current per-tonne MRPs of urea, DAP and MOP, are nowhere compatible with a 4:2:1 NPK use ratio generally considered ideal for Indian soils.
• Improve NUE:
  • Since increasing urea prices isn’t politically easy, a second approach is to improve NUE, enabling farmers to harvest the same or more grain yields with fewer bags.
• Incorporation of urease and nitrification inhibitors in urea:
  • These are chemical compounds that inhibit the activity of urease (a soil enzyme that breaks down urea into ammonium and further to ammonia) and nitrifying bacteria (that convert ammonium to nitrate), making more N available to the crops.
  • The government can bear a part of the cost of these chemicals, which are proprietary formulations of global plant nutrient solutions companies such as Koch and BASF.
• Use of Nano Urea:
  • Nano Urea is also primarily aimed at boosting NUE.
  • IFFCO claims that a single 500-ml Nano Urea bottle containing just 4% N can effectively replace “at least” one 45-kg bag of regular 46% N urea.
  • Its limitation is that, being a liquid fertiliser, it can only be sprayed after the crop has developed leaves. It cannot replace normal urea for basal application at sowing time or even for the early crop growth stages. Farmers are used to broadcasting fertilisers.
  • The government can subsidise the cost of spraying to promote nano urea.

In News: The seminal ruling in Kesavananda Bharati, in which the Supreme Court laid down the “basic structure” doctrine on the limits of Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution, completes 50 years.

About

• The Kesavananda Bharati case is a landmark judgment in the history of Indian constitutional law, delivered by the Supreme Court of India on April 24, 1973. It is also known as the Fundamental Rights case, as it upheld the supremacy of the Constitution and the fundamental rights of the citizens.
• Kesavananda Bharati challenged the constitutional validity of the 24th, 25th, 26th and 29th amendments to the Constitution of India. These amendments had sought to curtail the scope and extent of the fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens by the Constitution, and also to increase the power of the government in amending the Constitution.
• Kesavananda Bharati case curtailed unlimited parliamentary sovereignty and started a new interpretive enterprise by recognizing the basic identity of the Constitution, which may not be destroyed by any amendment. The basic structure doctrine has become a thriving aspect of constitutional judicial review.

Basic Structure of the Constitution

The concept of the "basic structure" of the Constitution of India was first propounded by the Supreme Court of India in the landmark Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973. The court held that certain provisions of the Constitution could not be amended even by the Parliament's amending power under Article 368 of the Constitution, as they formed part of the "basic structure" of the Constitution. The basic structure of the Constitution includes the following elements:

• Supremacy of the Constitution: The Constitution is the supreme law of the land, and all laws and actions of the government must be in conformity with it.
• Democratic form of government: India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, and the Constitution provides for a system of government that is based on the principles of democracy and republicanism.
• Secularism: India is a secular country, and the Constitution provides for the separation of religion from the state.
• Federal character of the Constitution: India is a federal country, and the Constitution provides for a distribution of powers between the central government and the state governments.
• Separation of powers: The Constitution provides for the separation of powers between the executive, legislature, and judiciary, and each branch of government is assigned specific functions and powers.
• Rule of law: The Constitution provides for the rule of law, and no person, including the government, is above the law.
• Judicial review: The Constitution provides for the power of judicial review, and the judiciary has the power to review the actions of the government and strike down any law or action that is unconstitutional.

Important Cases Leading to Basic Structure Doctrine

• Sankari Prasad Judgment 1951: Supreme Court held that the power to amend the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights is conferred under Article 368, and the word 'Law' as mentioned under Article 13(2) does not include an amendment of the Constitution.
• Golak Nath Vs State of Punjab 1967: The Supreme Court ruled that Parliament could not curtail any of the Fundamental Rights in the Constitution.
• Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain: In this case, the Supreme Court invalidated a provision of the 39th Amendment Act (1975) which kept the election disputes involving the Prime Minister and the Speaker of Lok Sabha outside the jurisdiction of all As per the court, this provision was beyond the amending power of Parliament as it affected the basic structure of the constitution.
• Minerva Mills vs. Union of India: Supreme Court provided clarity to the doctrine and laid down that the power of amendment under Article 368 is limited and exercise of such power cannot be absolute. SC also held that the harmony and balance between fundamental rights and directive principles are also part of the basic structure, and anything that destroys the balance is an ipso facto violation of the doctrine.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/kesavananda-case-and-its-legacy-sc-has-used-doctrine-sparingly-pushed-back-against-attempts-to-shackle-judicial-review-8572292/

In News: China convened an online meeting of trade ministers of the grouping C+C5 i.e. China and the five Central Asian republics. An in-person C+C 5 summit is on the cards next month along with China’s flagship Belt and Road Forum.

About C+C5 engagement:

• C+C5 comprises Central Asian countries namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
• First C+C5 summit was held virtually on January 25 last year, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
• Later India organised a summit of the C5, India’s first engagement with Central Asian nations collectively at the highest level.

Evolution of China Central Asia relationship:

• China shares a long history of trade, cultural, and people-to-people links with the Central Asian region, which lies on the ancient Silk Route.
• Modern China started engaging with central Asia after the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, when it formalised its boundaries with Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, as well as Russia.
• Diplomatic relations were established in 1992. China’s relationship in the region was institutionalised through Shanghai Five, the forerunner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

China’s interest in Central Asia:

• Market for exports: Central Asia was a readymade market for cheap exports, and gave China overland access to markets in Europe and West Asia.
• Resource rich region: The CA region is resource-rich, with massive gas and oil reserves, and strategic minerals such as uranium, copper, and gold. It also grows food grains and cotton.
• Peace in Xinjiang was another priority of China, as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region forms its frontier with Central Asia.
• Chinese investments in the 2000s helped upgrade Soviet-era infrastructure and carry out development works in Central Asian countries. China’s direct investment in the five countries is now almost $15 billion
• Strong Trade relations as China and the five countries reached $70.2 billion trade last year, with an increase of 40% over the previous year.
• Ongoing infrastructure projects through Chinese investments such as expansion of the Horgos port, construction of China-Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan railway, and implementation of Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China-Laos-Thailand-Malaysia transport corridor
• China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which offers the landlocked countries of Central Asia access to Pacific Ocean and East Asia and
• China’s investment in Uzbekistan which includes oil and gas exploration, processing and manufacturing, digital technologies and green energy including solar power.

Friction Points in the relationship:

• Crackdown on Muslim in Xinjiang province has triggered resentment in these countries, where Islam is the principal religion. Uighurs which are most affected by the crackdown has significant Kazakh and Uzbek populations
• Occupation of land and employment by Chinese: Increasing presence of Chinese workers and rapid land acquisitions by China in these countries, has periodically boiled over in public protests.

Future of Relationships:

• China stepped-up its engagement with the region over the last year as Russia remains preoccupied with Ukraine, giving rise to a new power equation.
• However the region still remains economically dependent on Russia:
  • Russia is Central Asia’s net security provider, through the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), comprising six countries.
  • Neutral stance of Central Asian countries towards Russia with regards to war.
  • Russia is trying to develop Central Asia as a substitute for imports from Europe.
  • Russia also has a huge migrant population of Central Asians who bind the region to it in economic dependency.

India and Central Asia:

• Engagement through SCO: India joined SCO in 2017 and the relation remains security-driven.
• India Central Asia Dialogue: with five Central Asian countries provides a platform for strengthening cooperation in political, security, economic and commercial, development partnership, humanitarian and cultural spheres.
• India’s ‘Connect Central Asia’ policy, formulated in 2012, is a broad-based approach, including political, security, economic and cultural connections.
• Connectivity Challenge: Despite trading ties, relationship has remained unstable due to absence of a land route to Central Asia, with Pakistan denying it passage and Afghanistan being uncertain territory after the Taliban takeover.

Source: 

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/china-and-central-asia-xi-jinping-russia-visit-vladimir-putin-8567782/

In News: Ministry of Civil Aviation Launches UDAN 5.0

About UDAN 5.0:

• The 5th round of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) has been launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• The UDAN scheme was first launched in 2016 and has undergone four successful rounds of bidding to further enhance connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country.
• The new & stronger UDAN 5.0 targets of operationalizing 1000 routes & 50 additional airports, heliports, and water aerodromes in the near future.

Key Features:

• The new scheme will focus on Category-2 (20-80 seats) and Category-3 (>80 seats)
• There will be no distance restriction on the origin and destination of flights and the earlier stage length cap of 600 km have been waived off.
• Viability gap funding (VGF) provided will now be capped at 600 km stage length for both Priority and Non-Priority areas which was earlier capped at 500 km.
• No predetermined routes would be offered, only Network and Individual Route Proposal proposed by airlines will be considered.
• Airlines would be required to submit an action/business plan after 2 months from the issuance of Letter of Award (LoA).
• The same route will not be awarded to a single airline more than once, whether in different networks or in the same network.
• Exclusivity will be withdrawn if the average quarterly PLF is higher than 75% for four continuous quarters, to prevent exploitation of the monopoly on a route.
• 25% of the Performance Guarantee to be encashed for each month of delay up to 4 months, to incentivize quick operationalization.
• Airlines would be required to commence operations within 4 months of the award of the route, earlier this deadline was 6 months.
• Novation process for routes from one operator to another has been simplified and incentivized.
• Besides, the government has also included a list of airports that are ready for operation or would soon be ready in the scheme to facilitate quicker operationalization of routes under the Scheme.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1918622

In News: World Bank releases Logistic Performance Index

About Logistic Performance Index 2023:

• India has climbed six places on the World Bank's Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2023, now ranking 38th in the 139 countries index.
• The rise has been attributed as a result of significant investments in both soft and hard infrastructure as well as technology.
• India was ranked 44th on the index in 2018 and its performance has drastically improved from 2014, when it was ranked 54th on the LPI.
• India's rank moved up five places in infrastructure score from 52nd in 2018 to 47th in 2023.
• It has climbed to the 22nd spot for international shipments from 44th in 2018 and moved four places up to 48th in logistics competence and equality.
• India has also witnessed a 17-place jump in rankings, whereas it moved up three places in rank in tracking and tracing to 38th.
• The report quotes modernisation and digitalisation as a reason for emerging economies, like India, to leapfrog advanced countries.
• Technology has been a critical component besides implementation of PPP model of a supply chain visibility platform leading to remarkable reductions of delays.
• The average dwell time for containers is three days for India and Singapore which is much better than industrialised countries like in U.S where it is seven days and for Germany, it was 10 days.
• Dwell time refers to the amount of time that a container or cargo spends at a port or terminal before being loaded onto a vessel or after being unloaded from a vessel.
• Demand for green logistics has been rising with 75% of shippers looking for environment-friendly options when exporting to high-income countries.
• India has previously launched National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity “PM Gati Shakti initiative” with an objective to reduce logistics cost and boost the economy by 2024-25.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-climbs-6-places-on-world-banks-logistic-performance-index/article66769733.ece

In News: State of the Global Climate report highlights extreme Weather events of 2022

About State of the Global Climate 2022 report

• The State of the Global Climate 2022 report is released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
• Frequent and intense extreme weather events have increased in recent years owing to rising global temperatures caused by human-emitted greenhouse gases.
• The climate change has resulted in heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, cold extremes, heavy rain, flooding, tropical cyclones, and other extreme storms.

Heatwaves:

• China experienced its most extensive and longest-lasting heatwave on record, resulting in 366 locations breaking their highest temperature records.
• Southern regions of China suffered from a 20 to 50 per cent rainfall deficit, leading to severe drought and the Yangtze River reaching its lowest level at Wuhan.
• Europe suffered from severe heatwaves in all its summer months with United Kingdom recording a maximum temperature of 40°C for the first time.
• Antarctica also experienced exceptionally high temperatures in March 2022, with two sites recording temperatures 35°C above the average for March and 15°C above the previous record years.

Droughts:

• The drought in the Horn of Africa intensified, with Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia experiencing their fourth and fifth consecutive poor rainfall seasons.
• Droughts also continued in Chile and the western and southern states in the United States.

Floods:

• Pakistan has seen devastating floods which killed around 1,700 people and affected 33 million people, covering 9% of the country's total geographical area.
• Storms and tropical cyclones had a particularly drastic impact on Madagascar, with tropical storms causing heavy rains that led to 214 deaths and affected 0.96 million people.

Other extreme weather events:

• India and Pakistan experienced heatwaves in the spring and summer seasons that brought down the yield of wheat crops with heatwaves.
• Hurricane Fiona became one of the strongest storm systems to make landfall in Canada while United States has seen frequent occurrence of tornadoes.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/natural-disasters/climate-change-worsened-extreme-weather-events-in-2022-state-of-the-global-climate-report-88904

In News: Bengal notifies four more Biodiversity Heritage Sites

About Biodiversity Heritage sites (BHS):

• These are defined areas with unique and ecologically fragile ecosystems with rich biodiversity protected under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
• These sites are recognized by the government as important areas for the conservation and preservation of the natural heritage of the country.
• BHS are important for promoting sustainable development, as they can be used for eco-tourism, scientific research, and education.
• With the recent notification, West Bengal now has eight biodiversity heritage parks which is highest number in the country.

The four new BHS are:

• Char Balidanga in Nadia:
  • It is located in Kaliganj block and comprises two islands covering 115 acres
  • It has tropical riverine vegetation with tall grasses and trees with swampy flat land covered with algal mats that are periodically inundated with tidal ebbs
  • It is home to almost 100 species of birds, golden monitor lizards, and golden jackals
• Namthing Pokhari in Darjeeling:
  • These are Natural Himalayan wetland in the Kurseong block covering an area of 11.9 acres
  • It is home to the Himalayan Salamander
• Amkhoi Wood Fossil Park in Birbhum:
  • It is near Illambazar and spreaded across 10 hectares
  • It has a unique geological and paleo-botanical features
• State Horticulture Research and Development Station in Nadia:
  • It is located in Krishnanagar covering 97.88 acres
  • It hosts indigenous horticulture germplasm of orchard trees

Existing Biodiversity Heritage Parks of Bengal:

• Dhotrey and Tonglu in Darjeeling
• Chilkigarh Kanak Durga Biodiversity Heritage Site in Jhargram
• Baneswar Shiv Dighi in Cooch Behar

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolkata/bengal-notifies-four-more-biodiversity-heritage-sites/articleshow/99627626.cms

Why in news? More than 181 members of the Hakki Pikki tribal community from Karnataka are stuck in violence-hit Sudan.

About:

• Hakki Pikkis (Hakki in Kannada means ‘bird’ and Pikki means ‘catchers’) are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters.
• It is a Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka, and their origin is said to be an ancestral relation with the legendary Ranapratap Singh.
• The Hakki Pikki tribe is believed to have originated from Gujarat and Rajasthan and migrated to south India via Andhra Pradesh.
• The tribe is divided into four clans and has a population of 11,892 in Karnataka.
• The 4 clans are Gujaratia, Panwar, Kaliwala and Mewaras and can be equated with castes in the traditional Hindu society.
• Their mother tongue was designated as 'Vaagri' by scholars.
• UNESCO has listed 'Vaagri' as one of the endangered languages.
• They have traditional medical knowledge that is in demand in several African countries.
• The community resided in the dense jungles for a long time and created its own plant and herb-based medicine systems.

Social Structure

• The tribe prefers cross-cousin marriages. The usual age of marriage is 18 for women and 22 for men.
• The tribe follows a matrilineal system of inheritance, where property and wealth are passed down from mother to daughter.
  • Women also have more authority in decision-making and leadership roles within the family and the community.
• Hakki Pikkis in Karnataka follow Hindu traditions and celebrate all Hindu festivals.
• Education levels among the Hakki Pikkis are still low.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/from-karnataka-to-sudan-story-of-the-hakki-pikki-tribe-8567624/

Why in news? Recently, The Group of Seven (G7) called for extension of Black Sea grain deal.

About:

• The deal was to provide a safe corridor for Ukrainian exports, especially food grains on humanitarian concerns.
• The main objective of the deal was to calm markets and to reduce increasing food inflation affecting several countries.
• The deal allowed exports of grain, other foodstuffs, and fertilizer, including ammonia, to resume through a safe maritime humanitarian corridor from three key Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa, and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi, to the rest of the world.
• It was brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey.

Joint Coordination Centre (JCC):

• A JCC was established to monitor the implementation of the Initiative.
• JCC Centre is hosted in Istanbul and includes representatives from Russia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United Nations.
• The UN acts as the Secretariat for the Centre.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/g7-calls-extension-full-implementation-expansion-black-sea-grain-deal-2023-04-23/

Why in news? SpaceX’s Starship, the world’s biggest rocket, exploded during its first test-flight to space.

About:

• SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
  • Starship will be able to carry up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Starship spacecraft:

• It is the second stage of the Starship system.
• It is also capable of point-to-point transport on Earth, enabling travel to anywhere in the world in one hour or less.

Super Heavy rocket: 

• It is the first stage, or booster, of the Starship launch system.
• Powered by 33 Raptor engines using sub-cooled liquid methane (CH4) and liquid oxygen (LOX).
• The Raptor engine is a reusable methane-oxygen staged-combustion engine that powers the Starship system.
• Super Heavy is fully reusable and will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to land back at the launch site.

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/watch-spacex-starship-rocket-explodes-minutes-after-launch-8567610/

Why in news? Recently, The Uttar Pradesh government has launched an agroforestry project to link farming with the global carbon credit market and generate additional rural income.

About carbon credit market:

• Carbon markets are trading models wherein carbon credits are sold and bought.
• It allows investors and companies to simultaneously trade carbon credits and carbon offsets.
• This mitigates the environmental crisis, while creating new market opportunities.
• Each tradable carbon credit equals a tonne of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases reduced or sequestered.
• The global carbon credit market was valued at $760 billion in 2021 and is projected to touch $2.68 trillion by 2028.

Agroforestry project:

• Uttar Pradesh government has joined hands with The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) to launch 6 agroforestry-based carbon finance projects in 29 districts of Meerut, Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Lucknow divisions.
• Carbon finance works on the ‘polluter pays principle’ with the polluting industries buying carbon credits.
• “The project will promote wood lots as farm forestry, and increase tree cover outside forest area,”.
• Agroforestry is a nature-based solution for climate amenable farming, such plantations are abundant sources of raw material for wood and paper industries.
• Agroforestry or tree-based farming is a nature-based activity to nurture carbon-neutral growth. The carbon credit earned from agroforestry is sold at a price determined according to the social impact of the particular project.

More Information:

• In 2014, India became the first country to adopt an agroforestry policy to promote employment, productivity and environmental conservation.
• Against the total geographical area of about 24 million hectares (MH), the UP green cover stands at 9.23 per cent or nearly 2.22 MH. Now, the state is targeting to increase its green cover from 9.23 per cent to 15 percent by 2026-27 by expanding forest/green area by an additional 1.40 MH by planting 1.75 billion trees and promoting agroforestry by farmers.

https://www.business-standard.com/amp/industry/agriculture/farming-linked-with-global-carbon-credit-market-in-uttar-pradesh-123042101257_1.html

Why in news? Recently, Scientists have fabricated monolayers of pure myelin basic protein (MBP).

About:

• It is a major protein component of the myelin sheath, which is a protective membrane that wraps around the axon of nerve cells.
• It acts as a model protein in studying diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS).
• It insulates and protects nerve fibres in the central nervous system.
• "It is comprised of lipids and proteins, among which is myelin basic protein (MBP)."
• The researchers used a technique called the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique to form monolayers of pure myelin basic protein at the air-water and air-solid interfaces.

Multiple sclerosis:

• It is a disease that impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
• It is considered to be an immune-mediated disease. This means that in MS, the body's immune system attacks the central nervous system.
• Symptoms: Vision problems, Loss of balance or coordination, Muscle weakness etc.

https://dst.gov.in/scientists-fabricate-protein-can-help-study-diseases-multiple-sclerosis

Why in news? Recently, External affairs minister co-chaired the 4th India-CARICOM ministerial meeting with his Jamaican counterpart.

About:

• It came into being on 4 July 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas.
• CARICOM is an intergovernmental organisation.
• It is grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five Associate Members.
• Members: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad & Tobago.
• The Chairmanship of the Community is rotated every six months among the member countries Heads.
• Objective: To promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy.
• Headquarters: Georgetown, Guyana.

https://m.timesofindia.com/india/eam-jaishankar-co-chairs-4th-india-caricom-ministerial-meeting-with-jamaican-counterpart/articleshow/99680922.cms