GMDC pays dividend: Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) chairman Mukesh Zaveri has paid a cheque of Rs 12.95 crore to Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel as its dividend for 1997-98 to the state government. GMDC earned a net profit of Rs 85.70 crore last year, a 20 per cent increase over the previous year's Rs 71.10 crore.

Vajpayee to inaugurate new IBM centre: Prime minister AB Vajpayee on Friday will inaugurate IBM's new centre in partnership with the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan to promote information technology education forIndia's financially disadvantaged youth. This is the eighth and the largest unit of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Gandhi Institute of Computer Education and Information Technology.

NetAcross move: NetAcross Communications, the developer of customized and packaged Internet/intranet solutions, will re-engineer the IT infrastructure of the US-based tour operator Apple Vacation. The project, worth $2 million, will be implemented in phases and is expected to last at least till the end of 2000.

Microsoft to rename Windows NT 5.0 line: Microsoft Corporation will rename the forthcoming Windows NT 5.0 line of operating system products to Windows 2000 with immediate effect. The first line of Windows 2000 products are expected to ship in the year 1999.

TCS, Tata IBM sign pact: Tata Consultancy Services and Tata IBM have announced a strategic partnership to address the needs of the small and medium enterprise segment with a complete business accounting solution. Under the arrangement, TCS and TataIBM would leverage their respective product, marketing and channel strengths.

Rational Software eyes Rs 10cr turnover: Rational Software (India), a 100 per cent subsidiary of the US-based Rational Software Corporation expects a turnover of Rs 10 crore for the current fiscal, as compared with Rs 4.5 crore in the previous year. It plans to hike its presence by expanding its dealer network and strengthening the base of software development in India.