Opportunities And Challenges In India

CEOs in India are focussed on overcoming near-term obstacles while reinventing businesses for the future

- VIVEK PRASAD

THE UNION BUDGET 2023-24 outlined the Top 7 growth-oriented priorities inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power, and financial inclusion driven by digital and technological innovations. Amid the disruptions across the world, a 30 per cent-plus increase in capital expenditure over the past year with a sharp focus on infrastructure, logistics, regional connectivity along with ease of doing business and certain tax reliefs, was reassuring.

A fractured world characterised by social instability, climate change, technological disruption, rapid urbanisation and shifts in global economic power and demographics is a cause of concern for global CEOs as evidenced by PwC’s 26th Annual Global CEO Survey results. Between October and November 2022, 4,410 CEOs were polled across 105 countries, of which 68 were from India.

The dual imperative of overcoming near-term obstacles while reinventing businesses for the future is visible through much of the survey. Nearly 73 per cent CEOs worldwide predict a decline in global economic growth, marking a significant departure from their optimistic outlook in 2021 and 2022. Inflation, macroeconomic volatility, geopolitical conflict and climate change rank as the top threats, ahead of cyber and health risks.

The picture is a little different in India, with CEOs here exuding an air of relative optimism, further accentuated by Budget 2023-24, which in some ways reflects the way business has been evolving in India. About 57 per cent of CEOs in India believe that the country’s economic growth will improve over the next year. Nearly 25 per cent of the CEOs indicated that they would like to focus on evolving their business and its strategy to meet future demands rather than drive operating performance.