India CEOs Show Higher Confidence Than Global Peers Despite AI and Cyber Concerns: PwC Survey

Indian chief executives demonstrate significantly higher confidence levels than their global counterparts regarding domestic growth prospects and revenue expectations, even as they grapple with intensifying concerns around artificial intelligence preparedness and cybersecurity threats. PwC's 29th Annual Global CEO Survey, which captured insights from nearly 50 India CEOs within a global sample of 4,454 leaders, reveals a stark contrast between domestic optimism and global caution.

Domestic Confidence Outpaces Global Sentiment

The survey findings highlight a remarkable divergence in outlook between Indian and global business leaders. Indian CEOs show substantially higher confidence across key growth metrics compared to their international peers.

This optimism persists despite a more cautious view of global economic prospects, with only 45% of India CEOs believing worldwide economic growth will improve in the coming year. PwC attributes India's relative resilience to strong macroeconomic fundamentals, continued government reforms, and the substantial scale of the domestic market, which enables companies to build global-scale operations without excessive export dependence.

Rising Security and Technology Concerns

Beneath the surface confidence, Indian business leaders face mounting strategic challenges. Macroeconomic volatility and cyber risks have emerged as the primary threats for India CEOs over the next 12 months, with 30.00% and 23.00% citing these concerns respectively. Notably, cybersecurity has overtaken inflation as a key worry, reflecting the increasing scale and sophistication of cyberattacks targeting businesses.

Nearly half of India CEOs plan to strengthen enterprise-wide cybersecurity measures to a large or very large extent, indicating the urgency with which companies are addressing these vulnerabilities.

AI Readiness Gap Emerges as Strategic Priority

Technology and AI readiness represent the most pressing strategic challenge for Indian business leaders. A significant 66.00% of India CEOs express concern about whether they are transforming quickly enough to keep pace with AI developments, substantially higher than the 42.00% global average.

Despite ongoing AI adoption efforts, implementation remains uneven across Indian companies. Only approximately one-third of India CEOs report applying AI at moderate or large scale in products, services, and demand generation, trailing behind global peers in this critical area.

Innovation and Diversification Trends

Innovation-led diversification is reshaping strategic priorities across Indian companies. The survey reveals 57.00% of India CEOs have begun competing in new sectors over the past five years, compared with 42.00% globally. Technology, industrial manufacturing, and aerospace and defence emerge as the most favoured areas for expansion over the next three years.

However, execution challenges persist. More than one-third of India CEOs acknowledge their speed to market for launching new offerings lags behind global peers, while half report lacking a defined innovation or venturing division. PwC warns that without stronger co-innovation partnerships and higher risk tolerance, companies risk falling short of their growth ambitions.

Strategic Outlook

The survey findings indicate Indian CEOs enter the coming period with robust confidence in domestic opportunities, coupled with heightened awareness of critical capability gaps. Success in closing AI readiness gaps, managing cybersecurity risks, and accelerating innovation execution will prove essential for sustaining competitive advantages in an increasingly uncertain global environment.