Amara Raja Batteries

Particulars as per the Companies (Disclosure of Particulars in the
 Report of the Board of Directors) Rules, 1988 and forming part of the
 directors report for the year ended March 31, 2008
 
 The Company continues its ongoing efforts on energy conservation
 through upgradation of process technology, effective production
 scheduling and installation of efficient equipment, resulting in energy
 savings.
 
 Form A
 
 Form for disclosure of particulars with respect to conservation
 
 of energy.
 
                                         2007-08        2006-07
 A.Power and Fuel consumption
 1. Electricity
 (a)      Purchased
           Unit(Kwh)                      67171204      49997502
 Total Amount (Rs.)                      205791636     146013849
 Rate/Unit (Rs.)                              3.06          2.92
 (b)     Own generation
 (i) Through diesel generator
 Unit (Kwh)                                  74937         82995
 Unit per litre of diesel                     2.20          2.28
 Cost/Unit (Rs.)                             14.89         14.37
 (ii) Through steam
 turbine/generator
 2. Coal
 3. Furnace oil
 4. Others
 (a)  LPG
 Units (Kgs)                                220405        198118
 Amount (Rs.)                              9339650       7242519
 (b)  Acetylene - Commercial
 units (Cubic Mtrs)                          19584         20283
 Amount (Rs.)                              2799689       2677393
 (c)  Oxygen Units
 (Cubic Mtrs)                                39456         35626
 Amount (Rs.)                               760019        644960
 B. Electricity consumed in Kwh               4172          3757
 per lakh of Ampere hour produced
 Research and Development
 
 1.  Specific areas in which R&D is carried out by the Company: Bench
 Marking of competitor batteries.  Conservation of raw materials/energy.
 Development of new products to suit diverse and demanding applications.
 
 Exploration of environmental friendly operations/ materials.  Material
 development activity for enhanced battery performance.  Quality
 improvements to reduce field failures.
 
 Technology up-gradation to make the batteries robust and high end
 performer.  Sharing of information through journals.  Development of
 import substitutions.  Studies on alternate technologies.
 
 2.  Benefits derived as a result of the above R&D:
 
 Design & development of high performance batteries for two wheelers.
 Design & development of small VRLA batteries for emergency lamps &
 small UPSs.  Launched products under 3 tier branding i.e.
 
 AMARON-PRO, HI-LIFE & GO with 42 variants so as to meet the market
 needs.
 
 Developed & commercialised new sub-brand variants for after market.
 
 Designed & developed new inverter batteries specifically to meet the
 power needs of the Indian market.
 
 Designed & developed a new and advanced range of FAT VRLA batteries for
 telecom cellular application.
 
 Productionised several environment friendly materials/processes to make
 the work environment friendly.
 
 Studied and systemised re-use of plastics across wider product range.
 
 Achieved higher productivity of industrial batteries by developing
 special additives for paste.
 
 Developed state of the art manufacturing facilities for heat sealing,
 post burning and leak testing.
 
 3.  Future plan of action:
 
 Development of flooded batteries for motor cycle application.  Start
 supplies of motor cycle batteries to new OEMs.  Development of a
 suitable variant for NANO and other equivalent small car segments.  !
 
 Expansion of DIN range batteries for automotive battery application.
 Development of batteries for various applications for Indian Railways.
 New modular UPS & cellular application to make the ; installation
 process faster and simple.  Development of suitable batteries for
 export requirement.  Develop technologies for motive power & other
 industrial \ applications.  Study the relevant alternate energy storage
 technologies, thereby establish new business opportunities.
 
 4.  Expenditure on R&D
 
                                                       (Rupees millions)    
 S. No.   Particulars                             2007-08      2006-07    
 
 1.          Capital                               4.648       0.194
 2.          Recurring                             8.664       8.146    
             Total                                13.312       8.340    
 Total R&D expenditure as                          0.10%       0.11%    
 percentage of total turnover
 
 Technology absorption, adaptation and innovation
 
 1.  Efforts in brief, made towards technology absorption, , adaptation
 and innovation
 
 Innovative battery designs suiting different market and customer
 segments.
 
 State of art equipments for motor cycle & small VRLA assembly &
 finishing lines.
 
 Introduction of new additives for industrial battery paste application.
 
 2.  Benefits derived as a result of the above efforts: Cost reduction.
 Environmental protection.  Material usage reduction and energy
 conservation.  Enhanced performance and reliability of the product.
 Enhanced market share.  Penetration into newer markets.  Foreign
 Exchange earnings.  Information regarding Imported Technology
 
 a) Technology imported The Company has imported
 
 technology for the manufacture of Automotive (SLI) batteries from
 Johnson Controls Inc. USA
 
 b) Year of import 1998
 
 c) Has the technology been Yes. Further, latest fully absorbed?
 developments in the technology are absorbed and implemented from time
 to time with the help of Johnson Controls Inc., USA when and where
 required.
 
 d) If not fully absorbed, Not applicable areas where this has not taken
 place, reasons therefor and future plan of action
 
                                                 (Rupees millions) 
 S. No.  Particulars                           2007-08   2006-07
 
 1.          Foreign Exchange used           3,820.12    2,343.70
 2.          Foreign Exchange                  402.94      287.36
             earned - Sales
 
 
                                          On behalf of the board
 Place: Monterrey, Mexico                Dr. Ramachandra N Galla
 Date : June 24, 2008                       Chairman