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Microsoft tests Encrypted Spaces for private cloud apps | ETIH EdTech News EdTech Innovation Hub Signal Veterans Aim to Encrypt Slack and Google Docs in 2026 TechnoSports Media Group Signal Alums Reveal ‘Encrypted Spaces,’ a System for Making Private Collaboration Apps WIRED Signal Veterans Want to Encrypt Slack, Google Docs, and Basically Every Other App Gizmodo
Microsoft has signed a three-year agreement to buy nearly 37,000 tons of carbon removal credits from Indian startup Alt Carbon, marking the tech giant’s first enhanced-rock weathering deal in Asia. Under the agreement, Alt Carbon will deliver 36,920 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal credits by 2029 from its Darjeeling Revival Project in eastern India. Microsoft also has an option to purchase additional volumes if the startup meets delivery and verification milestones. The deal follows reports that suggested Microsoft — the world’s largest buyer of carbon-removal credits — had paused parts of its carbon-removal procurement program. The company rejected those claims, saying it remained committed to its climate goals even as it refined its sustainability strategy. The agreement is a potential boon for Alt Carbon, a Bengaluru-based startup founded in 2023 that is focused on carbon removal projects, including enhanced rock weathering. This technique involves spreading crushed basalt and other silicate rocks on farmland to speed up natural chemical reactions that help store carbon dioxide. Alt Carbon sources basalt from the Rajmahal Traps in eastern India and deploys it across farmland in West Bengal, where the rock reacts with rainwater and atmospheric carbon dioxide to form stable bicarbonates. Discussions with Microsoft began in early 2025 and culminated more than a year later after extensive scientific review, due diligence, and contract negotiations, Alt Carbon co-founder and President Sparsh Agarwal told TechCrunch. Microsoft also required additional monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) measures beyond registry requirements, including expanded data-sharing and carbon quantification protocols, he said. The deal comes as buyers increasingly look for proven carbon-removal projects in a market where verified supply remains scarce. Hundreds of startups have emerged promising to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. However, only a small fraction have delivered verified credits at commercial scale. “The problem that exists right now is that there are a lot of suppliers, but there are very few verified deliveries out there,” Agarwal said. “When companies are able to deliver, everyone wants to ensure that they get a part of the supply.” Alt Carbon has issued nearly 10,000 carbon-removal credits through enhanced rock weathering to date, making it the world’s largest issuance of such credits, according to Agarwal. The startup expects to issue another 15,000 credits by the end of the year. Alt Carbon operates two carbon-removal projects in North Bengal, including one dedicated to Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines and a larger program from which Microsoft’s credits will be sourced, Agarwal said. The startup has expanded beyond tea estates into rice-growing areas and now works with more than 35,000 farmers across about 80,000 acres. Credits under the Microsoft agreement will be issued through Isometric, a carbon-removal registry that developed an enhanced rock-weathering methodology. The deal also reflects the growing role of emerging-market suppliers in carbon removal. Developers from the Global South now account for about 26% of carbon-removal credit issuances, up from roughly 2% in 2022, Agarwal said. He added that international buyers were often skeptical of Indian carbon projects when Alt Carbon launched over two years ago, but growing issuance volumes and stricter verification standards have helped improve confidence in the market. The Alt Carbon agreement is not Microsoft’s first carbon-removal investment in India. In January, the company signed an agreement with another Indian startup, Varaha, to purchase more than 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide removal credits generated through biochar over three years. Microsoft joins a roster of buyers of Alt Carbon’s credits that includes procurement coalitions such as Frontier, whose members include Google, Stripe and Shopify, and NextGen, backed by comp
Microsoft launches Scout AI assistant to automate workplace tasks The American Bazaar Introducing Microsoft Scout: Your always-on personal agent Microsoft Microsoft Wants to 'Make People Addicted' to its New AI Assistant, Internal Documents Reveal 404 Media First Take: Microsoft’s New Autopilots Pose Governance and Cost Challenges Gartner Microsoft launches Scout, an OpenClaw-inspired personal assistant TechCrunch
4 min readPatnaUpdated: May 26, 2026 12:58 PM IST The government has said the duration of such travel would be “treated as time spent on duty”. (Source: Pexels/ Representational)The Bihar government has directed all state government officials and employees to undertake periodic two-day stays at tourist destinations in the state, including eco-tourism and rural tourism destinations, as part of an initiative aimed at encouraging the development of local tourism infrastructure. “All government officers and employees working in the state of Bihar shall, once every three months, undertake a two-day visit (including two nights) with their families to any district within the state, excluding their home district, and stay in tourist, eco-tourism or rural tourism destinations,” a communication issued by the General Administration Department said.The order specifies that the stay should include Friday and Saturday nights, during which the visitors should tour up to three nearby destinations. The government has said the duration of such travel would be “treated as time spent on duty”. At the same time, it has barred officials from combining these visits with official review meetings or site inspections. “During this tour, no official shall conduct review meetings or site inspections for official work purposes,” the order stated. The directive, issued by Additional Chief Secretary of the General Administration Department, Dr B. Rajender, has been sent to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, secretaries, divisional commissioners, district magistrates, police officials and forest department officers across Bihar. The aim The government said the move was aimed at identifying ways to improve tourism-related infrastructure and facilities in areas that remain relatively under-recognised despite Bihar’s historical, cultural and ecological diversity. “Bihar is a state rich in diversity, with several places having significant art, culture, environmental diversity and historical importance. Apart from internationally and nationally established tourist sites, there are many important places that need to be brought to the global stage,” the letter said.Story continues below this ad According to the communication, officials and employees will be expected to submit a consolidated report after their visit, including photographs of tourist sites, information related to the destinations and their personal experiences. These reports will be submitted to district magistrates, divisional commissioners or respective departments, depending on the officer’s place of posting. The government has also directed departments and district administrations to appoint nodal officers to compile these reports and forward them to the departments concerned, including the Tourism Department, the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Department, and the Art and Culture Department. The order further places responsibility on district administrations and the tourism and forest departments to promote homestay facilities in tourist and eco-tourism regions. “It shall also be the responsibility of the Tourism Department, District Magistrates and Forest Divisional Officers to work towards the development of homestays in these tourist and eco-tourism areas so that homestays can be encouraged,” the communication stated.Story continues below this ad The government said such facilities would allow tourists to stay in local homes on a payment basis, helping strengthen the local economy while also offering visitors “authentic and immersive cultural experiences”, including local food and personalised hospitality. Anticipating increased movement of officials to tourist destinations under the initiative, the government has also asked district authorities to review accommodation arrangements at tourist and eco-tourism sites. The communication directs officials to coordinate with government guest houses and private hotels to ensure boarding and lodging facilities are availa
Microsoft finally re-adds refreshing File Explorer to the right-click menu XDA Microsoft is adding four new Touchpad options to Windows 11, and they look pretty useful XDA Microsoft brings free Windows 11 upgrade, big improvements to File Explorer, with new builds Neowin Microsoft brings Refresh & Print back to Windows 11 File Explorer right-click, plus readable file sizes for Details view Windows Latest Windows 11 Experimental (Canary) Build 29585 Updates Touch Keyboard Experience for Voice Typing & More Windows Report
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