Clear classification of RAS as agri-infrastructure would unlock more favourable financing

As technology reshapes the boundaries of Indian aquaculture, controlled-environment systems are enabling high-value species to be farmed beyond their traditional geographies. In this exclusive AgroSpectrum interaction, Aditya Rithvik Narra, Founder and Managing Director of Smart Green Aquaculture, shares how precision-engineered Recirculating Aquaculture Systems made rainbow trout farming viable in warm-climate Hyderabad, and how disciplined biological control, phased capital deployment, and integrated distribution turned innovation into a scalable business model. Edited excerpts;

- Suchetana Choudhury

ADITYA RITHVIK NARRA, Founder and Managing Director, Smart Green Aquaculture

What were the key biological and technical challenges in farming rainbow trout in warm-climate Hyderabad, and when did it become commercially viable?

The main barrier was biological. Rainbow trout are a cold-water species that begin to experience stress above 18 to 20°C and require very high dissolved oxygen levels. Hyderabad’s climate naturally pushes water toward high temperature and low oxygen, so we had to create a fully controlled environment. Technically, this meant engineering a precision engineered recirculating aquaculture system with precise temperature control, strong water flow, and extremely stable water quality. Building a system that could maintain cold water conditions in a tropical region was the fundamental challenge. Alongside this, we built full transparency and traceability into the system, with continuous monitoring of water parameters and fish health, so every stage of production could be verified in real time.

What design choices turned RAS from a sustainability concept into bankable production infrastructure at 1,200 MT scale?

We view RAS not as a niche technology but as a scalable inland trout farming ecosystem, similar to cold storage or controlled-environment agriculture. At scale, its value lies in its ability to decouple production from geography and climate, giving us year-round biological consistency and full control over inputs, outputs, and traceability. For a 1,200 MT trout facility, the critical design choices were precision engineering of the circular tanks, water filtration process, energy efficiency, thermal stability, and operational redundancy.