• India has officially joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People group recently.
• India is the first of the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to join the HAC.

High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People

• The High Ambition Coalition (HAC) for Nature and People is an intergovernmental group of 70 countries co-chaired by Costa Rica and France and by the United Kingdom as Ocean co-chair.
• It champions a global deal for nature and people with the central goal of protecting at least 30 percent of world’s land and ocean by 2030.
• The 30x30 target is a global target which aims to halt the accelerating loss of species, and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security.

State of Climate Services Report

• Terrestrial water storage (TWS) dropped at a rate of 1 cm per year in 20 years (2002-2021), according to a new report 2021: State of Climate Services released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• TWS is the sum of all water on the land surface and in the subsurface, i.e. surface water, soil moisture, snow and ice and ground water. Water is a key prerequisite for human development. But only 0.5 per cent of water on Earth is usable and available as freshwater.
• The biggest losses have occurred in Antarctica and Greenland. But many highly populated, lower latitude locations have also experienced TWS losses, according to the report.
• This includes India, where the TWS has been lost at a rate of at least 3 cm per year. In some regions, the loss has been over 4 cm per year too. India has recorded the highest loss in terrestrial water storage if the loss of water storage in Antarctica and Greenland is excluded. 
• India is, therefore, the ‘topmost hotspot of TWS loss’, according to the WMO analysis. The northern part of India has experienced the maximum loss within the country.

• The eighth edition of Mitra Shakti exercise between India and Sri Lanka will be conducted at Combat Training School in Sri Lanka's Ampara from October 4-15, 2021.

• Britain has the system of legal responsibility of the minister while India has no such system.
• Unlike in Britain, the ministers in India are not required to countersign the official acts of the Head of the State.