86% of CEOs think India’s economic growth will improve over the next 12 months: PwC’s Survey

As much as 86 per cent of India CEOs think that the country’s economy will improve over the next 12 months, according to PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey. The study further highlighted that 62 per cent 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 per cent of India CEOs said they were ‘extremely or very confident’, as against 37 per cent of global CEOs. About 70 per cent of India CEOs – as against 49 per cent of global CEOs – said they were confident of their company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next three years. 

However, the survey, which polled 4,702 CEOs in 105 countries and territories, including 79 from India, further showed that 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 per cent in July 2023 but had cooled to around 5.5 per cent in November 2023. 

The perceived risk from cyber threats saw a jump of 10 per cent from last year, with 28 per cent of India CEOs – as against 18 per cent last year – expecting extreme/high exposure to it. Health threats also figure high on the India CEOs’ list, with 27 per cent 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. 

Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India, said: “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 further added that 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. 

In addition to this, around 71 per cent of India CEOs expected GenAI to increase employee efficiency over the next 12 months, while 70 per cent believed it would improve their own performance. They also believe it is likely to increase revenue (48 per cent) and profitability (46 per cent). On the impact of the growing use of GenAI, around 30 per cent 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 per cent saying it would have little or no impact on headcount and 13 per cent seeing an increase.