- India has reclaimed the fifth position as an investment destination for global CEOs, up from the ninth position it held in 2023.
- 70% of India CEOs are very confident about their company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next three years.
- Changing customer preferences, agree India CEOs, is the top reinvention driver.
- Cyber and health risks along with inflation are the three key threats in the next 12 months.
- Generative AI (GenAI), India CEOs anticipate, will deliver significant top- and bottom-line benefits and enhance their company’s ability to build trust with stakeholders.
- For India CEOs, the top three reinvention actions to create, deliver and capture value are adopting new technologies, developing novel products/services and forming new strategic partnerships.
DAVOS, 16 January 2024 – 86% of India CEOs believe the Indian economy will improve over the next 12 months, according to PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey, which polled 4,702 CEOs in 105 countries and territories, including 79 from India.
The survey reflects confidence, spotlighting the fact that India leaders’ optimism about their country’s economic growth has seen a nearly 30% increase over the last one year. While global leaders are hopeful about the future too, they are still somewhat cautious in their predictions for the year, with 44% of global CEOs believing the economy would improve in their respective territories.
India’s air of positivity is also being felt across the world. The CEO Survey shows that India has reclaimed the fifth position as an investment destination for global CEOs, up from the ninth position it held in 2023.
62% of India CEOs are confident about their company’s growth over the next 12 months
India leaders are convinced that their companies are on the right track. When asked how confident they were about their company’s growth over the next 12 months, 62% of India CEOs said they were ‘extremely or very confident’, as against 37% of global CEOs. About 70% of India CEOs – as against 49% of global CEOs – said they were confident of their company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next three years.
While most India CEOs are confident about the future, a sizable section is concerned about the need to embrace change to keep pace with future trends. While 59% of India CEOs – as against 53% of global CEOs – said their companies would remain economically viable for more than 10 years if they continued on their current trajectory, 38% said their companies would remain economically viable for less than 10 years in this scenario.
Inflation, cyber risks and health concerns are top concerns for India CEOs
India CEOs saw inflation and cyber risks as the biggest threats to their businesses in the short term (12-month period). India’s annual retail inflation hit a 15-month high of 7.44% in July 2023 but had cooled to around 5.5% in November 2023. The perceived risk from cyberthreats saw a jump of 10% from last year, with 28% of India CEOs – as against 18% last year – expecting extreme/high exposure to it. Health threats also figure high on the India CEOs’ list, with 27% saying they expected their companies to be extremely and highly exposed to these over the next 12 months.The concern over health is evident with employees actively seeking employers who offer generous health insurance for their families.
India CEOs anticipate GenAI will deliver significant top- and bottom-line benefits
Around 71% of India CEOs expected GenAI to increase employee efficiency over the next 12 months, while 70% believed it would improve their own performance. They also believe it is likely to increase revenue (48%) and profitability (46%). On the impact of the growing use of GenAI, around 30% of India CEOs felt it would lead to the shrinking of jobs, but there was broader acknowledgement of its potential to create new job opportunities, with 48% saying it would have little or no impact on headcount and 13% seeing an increase.
It is also clear that India CEOs are fully aware that GenAI comes with its risks and will require vigilant oversight. Around 71% saw it as increasing cybersecurity risk, and 53% thought it would increase legal liabilities and reputational risks.
For India CEOs, changing customer preferences is the top reinvention driver
India CEOs are increasingly looking to reinvent their businesses to deal with regulatory, internal and supply chain constraints. The customer is central and 61% said customer preferences had led to changes in how their companies created, delivered and captured value in the last five years. India’s business leaders felt technological change (57%) and government regulations (47%) were also prominent triggers of reinvention. The regulatory environment and a lack of skills within the company are the key barriers to reinvention for Indian CEOs.
“Despite continuing global headwinds, the Indian economy has remained resilient with expectations of a strong growth trajectory in the near future. While India CEOs will indeed play a big role in the country becoming a five-trillion-dollar economy, they will also need to reinvent their businesses and work culture to ensure long-term sustainable success.” He added, “India’s business leaders will need to strategically tackle barriers such as regulatory constraints and lack of tech capabilities to turn them into growth opportunities which will create lasting value for businesses, society and the environment.”
Managing climate risk, a growing priority for businesses
India CEOs’ responses on climate change issues in the 2024 survey show a keen awareness of the urgency to speed up climate action, but they recognise that it is still work in progress. While just 8% said they had completed projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce consumption, 82% said it was in progress, and only 4% said they had no plans.
India CEOs reported progress on decarbonisation, climate adaptation, reskilling the workforce and investments in nature-based climate solutions. But they also said regulatory complexity (50%), lack of climate-friendly technologies (49%), lack of demand from external stakeholders (44%) and lower returns on climate-friendly investments (48%) were inhibiting Indian companies’ ability to decarbonise to a moderate and large/very large extent.
“In today’s complex business environment, there is a real need for business leaders to develop forward-thinking strategies on technology and climate to stay relevant. India CEOs must realign their businesses while keeping climate priorities in mind as well as make bold moves to adopt new technology to enhance their capabilities.”
About the 27th Annual PwC Global CEO Survey
PwC surveyed 4,702 CEOs across 105 countries and territories from 2 October through 10 November 2023. The global and regional figures are weighted proportionally to country nominal GDP. The industry and country-level figures are based on unweighted data from the full sample of 4,702 CEOs. The full findings can be accessed on pwc.com/ceosurvey. The India findings are available on www.pwc.in/ceosurvey2024
62% India CEOs are optimistic about India’s economic growth over the next 12 months
Cyber risks, inflation and health risks are the three key concerns for India CEOs
India CEOs believe cyber and health risks along with inflation are the three key threats in the next 12 months, resulting in greater impetus to reinvent
Q: How exposed do you believe your company will be to the following key threats in the next 12 months?
59% of India CEOs think their companies will be economically viable a decade from now if they continue on their current path
Q: If your company continues running on its current path, for how long do you think your business will be economically viable?
India CEOs plan to increase their headcount by 5% over the next 12 months
India CEOs believe GenAI will deliver significant top-end benefits
India CEOs anticipate GenAI will deliver significant top and bottom line benefits
Q: To what extent will GenAI increase or decrease the following in your company in the next 12 months?
Change in customer preference is the top reinvention driver for India CEOs
India CEOs rank changes in customer preferences as the top reinvention driver, followed by technological change
Q: Please indicate the extent to which the following factors have driven changes to the way your company creates, delivers and captures value in the last five years
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