Petronet opens price offers for LNG supplies: Petronet LNG, the consortium floated jointly by four state-owned oil companies, on Tuesday opened price offers for firming up supplies of liquid natural gas (LNG) to projects at Dahej in Gujarat and Kochi in Kerala. "This is perhaps the first time in the world that for the purchase of LNG, international competitive offers have been invited," Petronet LNG chairman and managing director Suresh Chand Mathur said. "Once received, the offers will be evaluated for firming up the supplies of LNG to the country," he added.

Performance of SCI, DCI and CSL rated excellent: The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has commended the performances of three public sector undertakings under the ministry of surface transport, namely the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), the Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and the Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL). The DPE rated the performance of the three PSUs under the MoU scheme as excellent and communicated the same to the ministry through a letter, according to an official release.

E-mail message for Indians sans computer launched: Informica (India) Pvt Ltd has launched an Internet service that enables Indians who do not have the internet or e-mail facility to receive messages from their kith and kin abroad. The facility offered by Informica, for people living in and around Delhi will see messages be passed on within seconds of transmission by using a combination of Internet, telephone and human voice, a company release said. The message sent to the company's Internet address in Delhi will then be transferred to the persons in the specified places through a telephone call, the release added.

IEC Software records increased profits: The Delhi-based IEC Software has recorded a higher net profit of Rs 27 lakh in the first quarter ended June 1998, against Rs 22 lakh for the entire accounting year 1997-98, a company release said. Keeping in view the vast opportunities in the international software market, the company which has tie-ups in several countries including the United Kingdom and Singapore, has announced plans to set up a subsidiary in the USA.

DoE proposes two microchip facilities, seeks govt. funds: The Department of Electronics (DoE) has proposed the formation of two microchip facilities in collaboration with multinationals and sought a one-time infusion of Rs 2,500 crore from the government to upgrade infrastructure. In a draft paper submitted to government recently, the DoE said the country could achieve a production target of Rs 3,000 crore in the semi-conductor industry if constraints are removed and initiatives are taken for setting up joint venture wafer fabrication facilities.

Kerala cooperative launches food products: Kerala chief minister EK Nayanar on Tuesday inaugurated the marketing of the food products launched by the Kerala Dinesh Beedi Central Cooperative Society as part of its diversification process. The Dinesh Cooperative Society's diversification comes in the wake of a crisis in the beedi industry. The new products being launched include coconut cream, chutney and curry powders and pickles.