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