27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective

Thriving in an
age of continuous
reinvention

www.pwc.in/ceosurvey2024
Foreword
For businesses in India, 2024 holds promise. Optimism voiced by business leaders in
India runs through PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective. Stressing
the imperative to embrace change, most CEOs polled said they have started taking
concrete steps toward reinvention to remain resilient. India’s air of positivity is being
felt across the world, too – the CEO Survey shows that India has risen to the fifth
position as an investment destination for global CEOs, up from the ninth position it
held in 2023.

Clearly, despite three years of global macroeconomic headwinds — including a pandemic

that severely impaired businesses and conflicts in Europe and West Asia — India is looking
at robust gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Global companies are hopeful about the
future, too, though – unlike their visibly upbeat India counterparts – they are still somewhat
cautious in their predictions for the year. As per our survey results, 86% of India CEOs said
they believed the Indian economy would improve – as against 44% of global CEOs who
believed this about their respective territories.

It was against this backdrop defined by positive trends in the Indian economy that the 27th
Annual Global CEO Survey was conducted. PwC surveyed 4,702 CEOs across 105 countries
and territories, 79 of whom were from India. 41% of India CEOs represented privately owned
companies; 59% were from publicly listed companies. The sector-wise break-up showed
that the largest number of business leaders were from the industrial manufacturing and
automotive sector (24%), and consumer sector (24%), followed by financial services (16%),
energy, utilities and resources (15%), technology, media and telecommunications (11%), and
healthcare (10%).

27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective 2

Key India findings

.
.
Almost 9 out of 10 India CEOs believe that the Indian economy will improve.
7 out of 10 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
forming new strategic partnerships.

Evidently, a majority of Indian business leaders are taking proactive steps to ensure long-
term business viability as they mobilise resources to deal with two megatrends – climate
change and technological disruptions, particularly GenAI. This year’s report, therefore, is
built around three themes that emerge from the survey findings:

. India’s growth story: Reviews the state of the Indian economy, India market and factors

.
that account for the long-term viability of business models.
Impetus to reinvent: Examines two megatrends, climate change and technological

.
disruption caused by GenAI, that compel further reinvention.
Roadmap to reinvention: Outlines four essential actions to jumpstart continuous
reinvention.

With the Indian economy looking up and Indian company heads exploring new ways to
advance growth, the survey underscores what it will take to stay the course.

Sanjeev Krishan Vivek Prasad

Chairperson, PwC in India PwC India Markets Leader

27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective 3

India’s growth story
There is good reason for the climate of cheer among India CEOs, for international, domestic
and government bodies have all underscored India’s strong GDP growth. The India
Development Update,1 the World Bank’s half-yearly report on the Indian economy, observed
in October 2023 that despite significant global challenges, India was one of the fastest-
growing major economies at 7.2% in FY 2022–23. Its growth rate was the second-highest
among G20 countries.

According to official figures released in November 2023,2 the GDP grew by 7.6% in the
September quarter – significantly higher than the 6.2% recorded during this period in
2022. This rise was propelled by strong growth in sectors including mining, construction
and manufacturing on a low base. The index of industrial production (IIP) also recorded a
16-month high of 11.7% in October 2023.

The projections may vary – but there is unanimity about India’s strong GDP growth. If the
predictions follow through, the Indian economy will remain resilient despite global challenges
in FY 2024–25. Now the world’s fifth-largest economy, India is likely to become the third-
largest by 2030 with a projected GDP of USD 7.3 trillion, according to S&P Global Market
Intelligence.3 The country’s GDP could expand 6–7.1% every year between 2024 and 2026,
S&P Global Ratings stated in December 2023.4

The private sector is expected to play a key role in achieving this goal,5 but as the India
CEOs’ responses show, there is little room for complacency. The gross value added (GVA)
growth for the services sector slowed to 5.8% in Q2 FY24, while purchasing managers’
index (PMI) services eased in October and November 2023. This can be due to saturation
of pent-up demand and a slowdown in global demand for services. Besides, the conflict in
Europe persists, and the war in West Asia may eventually adversely affect India if oil prices,
trade flows and shipping costs are impacted. Geopolitical upheavals, lagged effects of high
global interest rates and sluggish global demand could slow global economic growth over
the medium term.
1 India’s growth to remain resilient
2 Estimates of GDP
3 India set to become third largest economy
4 Growth prospects remain strong
5 India’s growth story
27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective 4
CEOs’ confidence in sync with India’s growth

The survey reflects confidence, spotlighting the fact that CEOs are more upbeat about
their company’s growth than they were last year. India leaders’ optimism about their own
territory’s economic growth has seen a nearly 30% increase compared to 2023, with a
staggering 86% agreeing that the Indian economy would improve.

This year, India CEOs’ optimism about their own Question: How do you believe economic
growth (i.e. GDP) will change, if at all, over
territory’s economic growth sees a nearly 30% the next 12 months in your territory?
increase compared to last year

100%
90%
90% 86%
80% 75%
70%
57% 59%
60%
50% 44%
40% 37%
28% 29%
30%
17% 19%
20% 15%
12% 11%
10% 8%
1% 3%
0%
India Global India Global India Global
2022 2023 2024

Improve Stay the same Decline

Global perception validates India’s position as an investment destination. India is in the

fifth position, up from ninth in 2023. The fourth most-favoured destination in 2020, India
slipped to the fifth position a year later, the eighth spot in 2022 and ninth in 2023. The
most important investment destinations for India CEOs, the survey showed, are the US,
Germany, China, the UAE and the UK, in that order.

27th Annual Global CEO Survey: India perspective 5