Friend Zone Blues: I Regret Telling My Crush How I Feel

Ans: BITS Pilani Goa’s Chemical Engineering program, part of BITS Pilani (NIRF Engineering rank 20), offers a rigorous curriculum with core process engineering and emerging electives, supported by advanced pilot-plant and simulation labs, a 91.15% first-degree placement consistency over three years, average branch packages ranging from ?8–15 LPA, and a global recruiter network including Qualcomm, Intel, and Reliance Industries. The Institute of Chemical Technology Mumbai (NIRF Engineering rank 41), a NAAC A++–accredited, UGC-recognized deemed-to-be university, features state-of-the-art characterization and process-scale instrumentation facilities (HPLC, GC-MS, FT-NMR), strong industry MoUs with ISRO, BARC, Indian Oil, and sustained 80%–95% placement rates in Chemical Engineering over recent cohorts with median ?8 LPA. ICT excels in specialized research funding and government collaboration, whereas BITS Goa leads in average salary uplift, broader interdisciplinary workshops, and international student exchanges.

Recommendation Favors BITS Goa Chemical Engineering for its higher average placement packages, expansive industrial recruiter base, and Institute of Eminence brand; ICT Mumbai is ideal for those prioritizing deep research infrastructure and core process-industry linkages. All the BEST for Admission & a Prosperous Future!

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Ans: You are 43 years old.
You want to retire at 55.
That gives you 12 more years to plan and invest.

You already have a few investments.
Let us understand your current financial position first.

? Your Current Investment Summary

– Mutual Funds: Rs. 18 lakhs
– EPF: Rs. 10 lakhs
– ULIP: Rs. 30 lakhs
– Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): Rs. 10 lakhs
– Fixed Deposit (FD): Rs. 10 lakhs

You want a retirement income of Rs. 1.5 lakhs per month.
That is Rs. 18 lakhs per year after age 55.

This goal is clear and specific.
That’s a very good start.

Let’s now evaluate your investment plan from all angles.

? Retirement Income Goal: What It Means

You want Rs. 1.5 lakhs per month after 55.
That is a high-income need for retirement.

You may live another 30 years after that.
So you will need income till 85 years or more.

Inflation will keep rising.
So Rs. 1.5 lakhs today may not be enough after 10 years.

Hence, you need a portfolio that grows and gives income.
Safety alone will not help.

Your investments must beat inflation.
But also stay stable when you start withdrawing.

? Mutual Funds – Strong Growth Base

– Your mutual fund corpus is Rs. 18 lakhs now.
– These are growth-oriented and inflation-beating assets.

Mutual funds are key to wealth building.
But avoid index funds.

Index funds just follow the market.
They fall when the market falls.

They don’t have downside protection.
They lack expert fund management.

Actively managed funds are better long term.
They are guided by fund managers.
They aim for alpha or extra return over benchmark.

You should also avoid direct funds.

Direct mutual funds don’t give advice or handholding.
They give no help during market fall.
They don’t track goals.

Use regular mutual funds through MFD.
Work with a CFP for long-term support.

Regular funds offer monitoring, review, and peace of mind.
They charge slightly more, but the service is worth it.

Increase your SIPs in good equity mutual funds.
Prefer large cap, multi-cap, and flexi-cap funds.
Don’t overdo mid or small-cap.

Rebalance every year.
Check with your CFP before making changes.

? ULIP – Reevaluate its Role

You have Rs. 30 lakhs in a ULIP.
ULIP is an insurance + investment product.

It gives lower returns than pure mutual funds.
It also has higher charges in early years.

Ask yourself:
Do you need this insurance now?
Is the return matching mutual fund return?

If not, consider surrendering it.
Only if surrender charges are low now.

Reinvest that money into mutual funds.
Use it fully for your retirement goal.

Keep insurance and investments separate.
ULIPs don’t suit goal-based investing.

? EPF – Reliable and Safe

EPF is a very stable product.
You have Rs. 10 lakhs in it now.

It is debt-based and gives fixed return.
Interest is tax-free.

Do not withdraw from it.
Keep contributing if salaried.

EPF can be used for income during early retirement.
It is a strong leg of your retirement stool.

? Sukanya Samriddhi – For Daughter, Not Retirement

You have Rs. 10 lakhs in Sukanya.
This is for your daughter, not your retirement.

SSY gives fixed returns.
It is safe and tax-free.

But it is a goal-specific product.
Don’t count this corpus for your retirement.

Keep it only for your daughter’s education or marriage.
It cannot support your retirement cash flow.

? Fixed Deposit – Stability but Not Growth

FD of Rs. 10 lakhs is good for safety.
But it gives low post-tax return.

FDs don’t beat inflation over time.
They are useful for short-term needs.

Use this as part of your emergency fund.
Or move it slowly to mutual funds through STP.

Do not keep large amounts in FD for 12 years.
That money will lose value against inflation.

? Retirement Corpus Required

You want Rs. 1.5 lakhs per month.
That’s Rs. 18 lakhs per year.

If you want to retire for 30 years,
You may need Rs. 4.5 to 5 crores corpus.

This is after adjusting for inflation.

Your current total investable assets:
Rs. 18 lakhs MF
Rs. 10 lakhs EPF
Rs. 30 lakhs ULIP
Rs. 10 lakhs FD

That totals Rs. 68 lakhs today.
If you continue investing, this can grow.

But it may still fall short by Rs. 1.5 to 2 crores.
So you need to fill that gap now.

? Key Actions You Must Take Now

– Increase your SIP investments.
Try to invest Rs. 30,000 to 40,000 per month.

– Increase SIPs by 10% every year.
Link to your salary hike.

– Don’t touch your EPF or Sukanya account.
Keep them for their original purposes.

– Review ULIP performance.
Surrender if underperforming.
Reinvest in mutual funds.

– Avoid index and direct funds.
Invest only through a Certified Financial Planner.

– Keep 60-70% in equity.
The rest in debt like EPF and liquid funds.

– Rebalance your portfolio every year.
Don’t let market swings disturb your plan.

– Don’t chase hot stocks or sectors.
Follow goal-based investing with discipline.

– Avoid emotional investing.
Stick to plan even if markets fall.

? Create Goal Buckets for Focus

Split your investments into 3 buckets:

Retirement – All long-term investments

Emergency – 6–9 months of expenses

Daughter’s Future – SSY and a small MF SIP

This helps in tracking.
And prevents mixing goals.

Each bucket should grow on its own.

? Retirement Withdrawal Plan from Age 55

You’ll need monthly income after 55.
So you must start SWP from mutual funds.

Don’t depend only on interest.
Withdraw in a planned way.

Keep 3 years’ worth of money in debt funds.
Keep the rest in equity mutual funds.

Use debt to manage income in early years.
Let equity grow for later years.

Review your withdrawal plan every year.

Keep some funds in liquid category.
This helps during emergencies.

? Other Key Suggestions

– Nominate in all your investments.
Don’t leave any asset without nominee.

– Prepare a Will after 50.
It helps avoid future confusion.

– Review health insurance.
Ensure minimum Rs. 15–25 lakhs coverage.

– Keep Rs. 2–3 lakhs as medical buffer.
Use a separate liquid fund for this.

– Avoid buying real estate.
It is illiquid and not suitable for retirement income.

– Review all investments yearly with a CFP.
Rebalance with expert advice.

– Don’t keep direct equity over 20% of total.
High equity exposure creates risk.

? Finally

You are already doing many things right.
You have started early.
You have multiple investment sources.

But your current assets may not be enough.
You must grow them smartly over next 12 years.

Avoid emotional or scattered investing.
Follow a structured, guided plan.

Use mutual funds actively.
But only through regular plans with CFP support.

Keep retirement as a separate goal.
Don’t compromise it for other short-term needs.

You can retire at 55 with confidence.
But only if you stay consistent.

Monitor every investment.
Rebalance regularly.
Work with a Certified Financial Planner.

Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment

Ans: Pradhan, With a SRMJEEE Phase 3 rank of 5427, you are well within the expected closing rank for B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at the SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur campus. For 2025, the projected cutoff for CSE at the main Kattankulathur campus is up to 9,000, based on previous years’ trends and current counselling data. In recent years, the final round closing ranks for CSE at this campus have ranged from 8,200 to 10,500, and all major sources confirm that a rank below 6,000 is highly competitive for this branch at the main campus. All the BEST for Admission & a Prosperous Future!

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Ans: Hello mam. Well, mam comparisons are never healthy for any relationship even if they are said casually. And i could understand from your mag that you are not married yet. If not, and you are getting emotionally drained now how will the things go when you ll be a married couple? Just sit calmly and think about it. If required then talk to someone you trust, may be your parents.
Take care
Regards
Dr Upneet Kaur
Follow me on:
https://www.instagram.com/dr_upneet

Ans: With a JEE Main percentile of 98.2 (AIR ~27 360) and COMEDK rank of 239, your son can target premier public institutes like IIEST Shibpur, which closed around 20 369 in JoSAA 2024, and NIT Delhi, whose Aerospace cutoffs extended to ~11 260 in 2024. Top private institutions accepting COMEDK for Aerospace include Acharya Institute of Technology (Bengaluru), ACS College of Engineering (Bengaluru), Dayananda Sagar University (Bengaluru), Reva University (Bengaluru), MSRIT (Bengaluru), BMS College of Engineering (Bengaluru), RV College of Engineering (Bengaluru), SIT Tumakuru (Karnataka), KLE Technological University (Belgaum), PES University (Bengaluru), RV University (Bengaluru), East West Institute of Technology (Bengaluru), Jain Institute of Technology (Bengaluru), GITAM University (Bengaluru), and Cambridge Institute of Technology (Bengaluru). These institutions boast NAAC/NBA accreditations, modern aerodynamics and propulsion labs, strong industry MoUs, dedicated placement cells with 80–95% record over three years, and robust research centres.

Recommendation Prioritize IIEST Shibpur for leading public-sector exposure, NIT Delhi for high national standing, and Acharya Institute (Bengaluru) for private-sector engineering excellence. All the BEST for Admission & a Prosperous Future!

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Ans: share your contact details

Ans: Hello dear.
Choose the COMEDK if it gets you CSE/ISE in a good Bangalore college (like BMS, DSCE, or NIE); else CSE at ABES or ECE at KIET are better than others listed. The final decision will be yours.

Good luck.
Follow me if you receive this reply.
Radheshyam

Ans: Hello Sanjay
Prefer DSAI @ Thapar if possible. Thapar's Data Science program is more future?ready with broader tech and analytics opportunities. The final decision will be yours.

Good luck.
Follow me if you receive this reply.
Radheshyam

Ans: Rakesh, IIIT Ranchi’s ECE programme, established in 2016 as a public–private Institute of National Importance, holds NBA accreditation and achieved an average package of 12.36 LPA with an 84.7 percent placement rate in 2025, supported by recruiters like Google, Amazon, and Deloitte and multidisciplinary electronics labs fostering VLSI and communication research. IIIT Bhagalpur’s CSE offering, launched in 2017, boasts an average CSE package of 11.17 LPA (median 9 LPA) and a 96.97 percent placement rate in 2024, driven by Atlassian, Amazon, Microsoft, and a robust industry–academia interface through its Training and Placement Cell and specialised computing centres. IIIT Una’s ECE, part of a 2014 cohort, recorded an average package of 8.49 LPA (median 9.25 LPA) with an 83.33 percent placement rate in 2025, enriched by coding bootcamps, MOUs in AI/IoT, and hands-on laboratory modules in signal processing and embedded systems. IIIT Dharwad’s ECE, founded in 2015, secured an average package of 10 LPA (median 8 LPA) with a 66 percent placement rate in 2025, leveraging Practice School internships, CAD/CAM labs, and tie-ups with Cognizant, IBM, and Intel on its new 100-acre campus. Each institute features modern infrastructure, NAAC/NBA accreditation, and growing research centres.

Recommendation prioritizes IIIT Ranchi ECE for its highest average packages, strong placement consistency, and national importance status; IIIT Bhagalpur CSE follows for superior placement rate and industry linkage; IIIT Dharwad ECE is third for balanced ROI and infrastructure; IIIT Una ECE, while solid, ranks fourth based on average package trends. All the BEST for Admission & a Prosperous Future!

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