Most Indian CEOs expect strong domestic growth, higher revenues: PwC Survey

PwC's 29th CEO survey said 57% of Indian CEOs expect near-term revenue growth, but cite macroeconomic volatility and cyber risks as the biggest concerns, while AI adoption remains uneven

A majority of Indian chief executive officers (CEOs) — 77 per cent as against 55 per cent of their global counterparts — are optimistic about strong domestic growth, according to PwC’s 29th Global Annual Survey released on Tuesday. More than half of Indian CEOs — 57 per cent — are confident of near-term revenue growth but have flagged macroeconomic volatility and cyber risks as the top challenges over the next one year, the survey showed.

 

India’s economy is estimated to grow by 7.4 per cent in FY26, up from 6.5 per cent in FY25, according to the first advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) released by the National Statistics Office.

 

“Our advantage lies in the scale of our domestic market. For many industries, global-scale operations can be built by serving India alone. This is a privilege export-dependent economies lack,” said T V Narendran, chief executive officer and managing director, Tata Steel, in the survey.

 

Narendran added that India needed to sharpen its competitiveness, not only for domestic consumers but also for when global markets regain stability and discipline.

 

The PwC survey found that while more Indian CEOs — 66 per cent — were concerned about keeping pace with technology and artificial intelligence, only 36 per cent reported using AI in products, services and experiences to at least a moderate extent.

 

The survey noted that those who applied AI to business functions to at least a moderate extent saw tangible revenue gains, with 32 per cent of Indian CEOs reporting an increase in revenue, while 27 per cent reported a reduction in costs.

 

The report found that companies with broader and stronger AI foundations were 2.3 times more likely to report revenue growth and 1.7 times more likely to achieve cost reductions compared to those without such foundations.

 

The survey drew responses from 4,454 CEOs globally, including nearly 50 from India.