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India’s retirement planning problem may be bigger than it looks. In this episode of The Core Report Special Edition, Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Saurabh Mukherjea, Founder and CIO of Marcellus Investment Managers, about the ₹25 crore retirement reality, why retirement planning in India is getting harder and why even ₹5.5 crore may not be enough.Saurabh Mukherjea argues that the real question is not how much people are saving today, but whether their assumptions about inflation, longevity and earning years are realistic. Using the example of Radhika, a 35-year-old professional spending ₹1 lakh a month, he shows how ₹5.5 crore can become ₹7.5 crore with a longer lifespan, ₹15 crore with higher inflation and ultimately the ₹25 crore retirement reality if the cost of living for affluent Indians is closer to 9%.The conversation explores three forces that could disrupt retirement planning in India. Indians may live longer than expected, healthcare and education costs may rise faster than headline inflation, and peak salaried earning years may end earlier as gig work becomes more common.Saurabh Mukherjea also explains why global diversification could become central to long-term wealth creation. He discusses Indian equities, S&P 500 index funds, global ETFs, bonds, gold, liquid funds, multi-asset portfolios and investing internationally through GIFT City. He also questions whether concentrating most savings in India remains sensible when India represents only a small share of global stock markets.Govindraj Ethiraj and Saurabh Mukherjea discuss retirement planning, inflation in India, medical inflation, asset allocation, mutual funds, the Indian stock market, global investing, household debt, declining savings, social media-led consumerism, smaller cities, real estate, the gig economy and the future of work. They also examine what these shifts could mean for professionals, entrepreneurs and business families.At the heart of the conversation is a bigger question. If Indians are likely to live longer, work differently and face higher costs, how much money will they really need for a financially secure retirement?Chapters:02:46 Why You Need to Start Thinking About Retirement Now 12:28 Does the Cost of Living Always Have to Rise? 15:46 Could Competition Ease the Cost-of-Living Crisis? 16:06 Will Working Longer Change Retirement? 19:52 Can Medical Advances Change Retirement? 22:07 Will Capital Become More Global? 24:24 Can Changing Growth Rates Rewrite Retirement? 31:51 Where Should You Invest for the Next Decade? 34:04 How Should You Build Your Retirement Portfolio? 38:09 What Should Your Investment Strategy Look Like? 39:31 Is Global Diversification Defensive or Strategic? 42:27 Q&A: What the Audience Wants to Know Watch the full conversation for a deeper understanding of the ₹25 crore retirement reality, retirement planning in India and how Saurabh Mukherjea believes Indians should rethink work, savings and global investing.This conversation is for information and educational purposes only. It should not be treated as personalised investment advice.What is the ₹25 crore retirement reality every Indian must know? Saurabh Mukherjea tells Govindraj Ethiraj why retirement planning in India is becoming harder as inflation, longevity and medical costs rise. Watch The Core Report to learn how Indian equities, global investing, asset allocation and a diversified retirement portfolio could help build long-term financial security.#RetirementPlanning #SaurabhMukherjea #PersonalFinance #GlobalInvesting #TheCoreReport #TheCore
ChatGPT could make brands invisible as consumers move from searching on Google to asking artificial intelligence what to buy, which companies to trust and which products best suit their needs.
In this episode of The Core Report Weekend Edition, Financial Journalist Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Kirthiga Reddy, co-founder and CEO of OptimizeGEO.ai, about how AI search, Generative Engine Optimization and large language models are reshaping marketing, brand discovery and consumer decisions.
Reddy says ChatGPT now has more than a billion users, with people returning multiple times a day. She also points to the rise of zero-click Google searches, where users receive answers without visiting another website. As consumers move from awareness to purchase within an AI conversation, brands missing from those answers risk being forgotten.
The conversation examines how Generative Engine Optimization or GEO differs from traditional SEO. Reddy explains how companies can measure visibility, share of voice, sentiment, accuracy and trust across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity. She also explains why inconsistent information can confuse large language models and reduce the chances of a brand being recommended.
Large advertising budgets may not guarantee strong AI visibility. Drawing on a study around the Indian Premier League, Reddy explains why brands combining media spending with an AI search strategy performed better than those relying on advertising alone. The discussion also looks at how creators, Reddit, customer reviews and trusted sources influence AI answers.
AI search could also change customer acquisition. Reddy discusses a business that recorded three times higher visibility, more than 131% growth in AI-attributable traffic and twice the revenue from AI-attributable sources. She also examines agentic commerce, where AI agents research products, compare services and make purchasing decisions for consumers.
For businesses, this could mean marketing and selling to AI agents, not only to humans. Reddy explains why AI visibility needs an always-on strategy, how enterprises should respond and how leaders can build AI-ready teams. She also reflects on her journey as Facebook’s first employee in India, Managing Director of Facebook India and South Asia, and the first female investing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Could AI search determine which brands gain market share and which disappear from consumer consideration?
Watch the full conversation for insights on ChatGPT, AI search, Generative Engine Optimization, GEO, brand visibility, digital marketing, artificial intelligence, large language models, agentic commerce & the future of search.
Chapters:
01:24 What Led to OptimizeGEO.ai?
02:18 How AI Changed Brand Discovery
03:37 From SEO to AI: What Changed?
05:41 How LLMs Choose What to Recommend
07:18 How Brands Build Trust With AI
08:28 What Are Consumers Really Asking?
09:46 The Gap Between Brands and Creators
10:55 How Fast-Changing LLMs Are Reshaping Brands
12:53 Why Every Big Launch Needs an AI Strategy
13:49 What Happens When AI Changes the Rules?
14:36 When AI Starts Driving Transactions
16:06 How Agentic Commerce Changes Everything
17:22 Is AI Moving Faster Than Enterprises?
18:28 What Consumers Want, Market by Market
20:07 How Should Brands Respond to Consumer Feedback?
21:50 Inside the Corporate Response to AI
22:57 What’s Next for AI Visibility?
24:06 What Does an AI-Ready Enterprise Look Like?
25:27 What Kind of AI Team Do Enterprises Need?
26:01 Who Should You Hire for the AI Era?
27:42 Why Become an Entrepreneur?
Could ChatGPT make your brand invisible? Kirthiga Reddy & Govindraj Ethiraj explain AI search, Generative Engine Optimization, GEO, brand visibility, digital marketing & agentic commerce on The Core Report. See how ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude & Perplexity shape brand discovery & product recommendations.
#ChatGPT #AISearch #GenerativeEngineOptimization #DigitalMarketing
On Episode 961 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Ajay Srivastava, Founder at the Global Trade Research initiative (GTRI) as well as Dr. Michael Chui, senior fellow at QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey.
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) Stories of the Day
(01:00) Benchmarks Slide Again Despite Oil Prices Falling
(02:25) Only 40 Of 53 Companies That Listed Their Shares In 2026 Are Trading Above Their IPO Issue Price
(04:40) More Indians Are Acquiring Credit Cards But They Aren’t Using Them
(05:36) What India Needs To Learn From Canada’s Trade Response To US
(15:42) Companies Are Investing More In AI But Where Is It Paying Off?
(26:24) Why Gold Vaults Are Running Full World Over
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On Episode 960 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Shankkar Aiyar, economic journalist and author; Ajay Kedia, metal and commodities expert; as well as Manish Gupta, Deputy Chief Ratings Officer at Crisil Ratings.
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) Stories of the Day
(01:00) Foreign Investors Are Still Wary Of India
(05:44) Will The Government’s Overseas Roadshows For Investments Deliver?
(13:22) Gold Prices Are Rising Again, What Are The New Demand And Supply Forces
(19:04) India Inc May Have Slowed On Capex But It Has Invested Hugely In M&A, Says New Crisil Report
(27:23) Meta Agreed To Pay $16.68 Billion And Make Major Changes to Facebook And Instagram
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On Episode 959 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Ambareesh Baliga, Veteran Market Expert as well as Prasanna Tantri, Associate Professor of Finance and the Executive Director of the Centre for Analytical Finance at the Indian School of Business (ISB).
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) Stories of the Day
(00:50) Operation Economic Outcast Is Not As Bad As Feared
(02:09) The US Sanctions Indian Trading Companies For Doing Business With Iran
(04:57) Govt To Transfer Its Conventional Missile Technologies To Private Sector To Hasten Production
(05:38) A Steady Flow Of IPOs Continues To Act As A Dampener On The Markets
(12:47) India Might Raise Close To $80 Billion Of FCNR (B) or NRI Deposits
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On Episode 958 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Alok Agarwal, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Alchemy Capital Management. We also feature an excerpt from our episode of How India’s Economy Works featuring Vidya Mahambare, Professor of Economics at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai.
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) Stories of the Day
(01:00) Why Markets Are Bracing For US Sanctions On Iran
(03:59) Has China Passed Its Peak Demand For Oil Last Year Itself?
(05:48) Will This Year Be The Weakest Monsoon In 20 Years?
(07:11) The Crossover Theory On Yesteryear Stocks
(15:14) The Unintended Consequences Of India's Rural Homes Subsidy
(26:24) India’s Aviation Market Is Contracting Right Now
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On Episode 957 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Shankkar Aiyar, economic journalist, columnist and author. We also feature an excerpt from our episode of How India’s Economy Works featuring Partha Chatterjee, Dean of Academics and Professor of Economics at Shiv Nadar University.
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) The Take
(03:43) FIIs Pick Up Buying, Will They Balance Out Rising Oil Prices
(05:13) FCNR Deposits Now Over $65 Billion As The Deadline Approaches
(08:46) 87 Million Indian Youth Aged 15 To 29 Are Not Studying, Working, Or Receiving Training, Govt Report.
(10:55) Why India Is No Exception To Rising Debt Global Levels
(22:09) Why Rising GDP Has Not Translated Into Rising Household Prosperity
RESOURCE LINKS
Government Carry Trades: A Rising Global Risk by Shankkar Aiyar
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India’s next investment boom could be emerging across AI infrastructure, defence and metals. In this episode of The Core Report Special Edition, Abhay Laijawala, MD & Chief Investment Officer, India, Lighthouse Canton, joins financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj to explain the biggest investment opportunities shaping India’s stock market and economy in 2026.From data centres and AI infrastructure to defence manufacturing, copper, silver and aluminium, Laijawala explains why the next investment cycle may look very different from the one investors have just lived through.India may not dominate the semiconductor or memory chip business yet, but Laijawala argues that the country has a significant opportunity in the wider AI infrastructure ecosystem. Transformers, cooling systems, gensets, electrical equipment and data centre infrastructure could become major beneficiaries as India expands from under 2 GW of data centre capacity today towards an estimated 8 to 10 GW over the coming years.The conversation also looks at why defence manufacturing in India could be at the beginning of a multi-year growth cycle. Rising domestic procurement, stronger order books, exports, missiles, munitions, drones and a growing private-sector defence ecosystem are creating new opportunities outside the traditional large-cap universe.The next major investment theme is metals, particularly copper, silver and aluminium. Copper demand is rising with power grids, renewable energy, electric vehicles and data centres, while constrained global supply could create a significant copper shortage. Silver and aluminium could also benefit from the global shift towards electrification.Laijawala also explains why investors are looking beyond Indian equities towards US stocks, European equities, semiconductors and global diversification, and why gold and silver may deserve a larger place in portfolios as concerns around US debt and the dollar grow.Could India’s next investment boom be driven by AI, defence and metals rather than the traditional market leaders?Govindraj Ethiraj and Abhay Laijawala also discuss whether India could be entering an economic cycle similar to 2003 and 2004, with stronger industrial growth, rising bank credit, corporate investment and potentially higher earnings growth.Watch the full conversation for Abhay Laijawala’s outlook on the India stock market in 2026, AI infrastructure investment, defence manufacturing, copper and silver prices, aluminium, data centres, global equities, portfolio allocation and India’s next investment cycle.Chapters:01:24 What Does Lighthouse Canton Actually Do? 02:47 What Wealthy Investors Want Now 03:54 Are Global Investors Still Committed to AI? 06:27 What Does It Mean When Investors Get Flushed Out? 07:06 Why Power and Copper Matter to India’s AI Future 10:13 Where Will India’s Next Industrial Growth Come From? 11:43 Which Equipment Is on the Approved List? 12:15 Will More Companies Enter This Opportunity? 13:21 How Industry Is Preparing for What’s Next 14:11 Can India Capitalise on Rising Copper Demand? 20:16 Where Are India’s Next Big Investment Themes? 22:56 Why Mining Could Matter More to Investors 24:15 Where Do Copper, Silver and Aluminium Go From Here? 26:54 How Should Investors Allocate Across Asset Classes? 29:00 Where Are the Next Opportunities in Defence? 32:32 What Are India Inc.’s Earnings Telling Investors? Could India’s next investment boom come from AI infrastructure, defence manufacturing and metals? Govindraj Ethiraj and Abhay Laijawala discuss India’s stock market outlook for 2026, data centres, AI investment, defence, copper, silver, aluminium and the next investment cycle shaping India’s economy. Watch The Core Report Special Edition for the investment opportunities investors should be tracking.#IndiaInvesting #AIInfrastructure #DefenceManufacturing #StockMarketIndia #TheCoreReport #TheCore
India’s truck transition could become a $1 trillion opportunity as heavy-duty trucking shifts from diesel to LNG and electric trucks.In this episode of The Core Report Weekend Edition, Govindraj Ethiraj speaks with Anirudh Bhuwalka, Founder and MD of Blue Energy Motors, about what this transition could mean for India’s manufacturing, logistics and commercial vehicle industry.India has around 4 million medium and heavy-duty trucks on the road, with roughly 250,000 new trucks sold every year. The shift from fossil fuels to alternate fuels could create a $1 trillion manufacturing opportunity, even before accounting for logistics, charging infrastructure, energy services and the wider transport ecosystem.Blue Energy Motors has already put more than 1,200 LNG trucks on Indian roads and accumulated around 100 million kilometres of operating data. Bhuwalka explains why LNG can work as a transition fuel for long-haul trucking, how lower operating costs can help fleet operators recover the higher upfront cost, and why LNG infrastructure is beginning to improve across key industrial corridors.Electric trucks could change the economics even further. Falling battery and renewable energy costs are improving electric truck economics, but range, charging time, infrastructure and upfront capital remain major barriers. Blue Energy Motors is testing battery swapping on the Mumbai-Pune corridor and using an energy-as-a-service model to separate the battery cost from the truck.The conversation also looks at why India cannot simply copy China’s electric truck model. It also examines how scale could bring down LNG truck costs over time, where heavy-duty trucks fit into the EV transition, and how LNG, electric, biogas and hydrogen may serve different use cases.Bhuwalka also explains how connected trucks are changing fleet economics. Blue Energy Motors tracks around 120 data points in real time and uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for driver scoring, predictive maintenance, fuel efficiency, safety and fleet productivity.Could India’s $1 trillion truck transition become one of the country’s biggest manufacturing and investment opportunities?Watch the full conversation for insights on electric trucks in India, LNG trucks, heavy-duty trucking, EV adoption, battery swapping, commercial vehicles, logistics, clean mobility, truck manufacturing, predictive maintenance and transport decarbonisation.Chapters:01:03 The Journey from AMW to Building Blue Energy Motors03:24 Blue Energy Motors Enters a Market Dominated by Giants04:46 The Challenge of Building a New Truck Brand07:04 What 1,200 Trucks Taught Blue Energy Motors10:13 Did the War Disrupt Blue Energy Motors?10:53 Are There Enough LNG Stations in India?11:58 How Blue Energy Motors Built Its Truck Platform16:14 Who Buys a Blue Energy Motors Truck?17:43 Have Blue Energy Motors’ Early Buyers Broken Even Yet?18:54 Will LNG Trucks Get Cheaper With Scale?19:23 Why Blue Energy Motors Is Betting on Both LNG and Electric23:26 Where Heavy-Duty Trucks Fit Into the EV Transition24:11 Why China Is Pulling Ahead in Battery Technology26:25 Why LNG and Electric May Serve Different Trucking Needs27:21 Are Hybrids the Missing Link in Clean Trucking?28:01 Can India’s Biogas Push Power Heavy Transport?30:41 How Connected Trucks Are Closing the Engineering Feedback Loop35:55 What It Takes to Build a B2B Truck Brand36:59 The Financial Roadmap for Blue Energy MotorsIndia’s truck transition could become a $1 trillion opportunity as electric trucks in India, LNG trucks and battery swapping reshape heavy-duty trucking. The shift could transform India’s manufacturing, logistics, commercial vehicles and clean mobility sectors. Watch the full conversation on EV adoption, truck economics and the future of transport in India.#ElectricTrucks #LNGTrucks #EVIndia #Manufacturing #Logistics #TheCoreReport #TheCore
On Episode 954 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Atul Chaturvedi, Director at Shree Renuka Sugars as well as Umesh Sharma, Chief Investment Officer - Debt at The Wealth Company Mutual Fund.
SHOW NOTES
(00:00) Stories of the Day
(01:00) Will Indian Markets Hold Their Gains As US Treasury Yields Rise?
(04:38) Did The Government Fail To Anticipate A Sugar Shortage, Leading To Prices Jumping And Imports Opened Up?
(15:41) The US Treasury Is Openly Intervening In Bond Markets, Even As Gross US Debt Crosses $40 Trillion
(24:09) What China’s Humanoid Robots Can And Cannot Do
(26:00) The Rise And Fall Of Asia’s Second Richest Man As Chinese Real Estate Tycoon And Founder Of Evergrande Is Sentenced To Life In Prison
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