MC-Deloitte CXO Survey: India Inc turns more optimistic, but global headwinds and policy uncertainty remain key concerns

MC-Deloitte CXO survey shows improving optimism

• CXOs optimistic about India; 19.6% foresee over 7% GDP growth in FY27
• Physical and digital infrastructure, innovation seen as key growth drivers
• Geopolitical risks, policy uncertainty, and trade issues remain major concerns

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India Inc is turning optimistic about the growth outlook despite lingering global risks and policy uncertainty, according to the latest Moneycontrol-Deloitte pre-Budget Survey of about 50 CXOs.

Nearly one in five respondents in the pre-Budget survey expect India’s economy to grow above 7 percent in FY27, a sharp improvement from last year when only a small fraction of corporate leaders were extremely optimistic about growth.

In the current survey, 19.6 percent of CXOs said they were “extremely optimistic”, while another 50 percent expect GDP growth in the 6.5–7 percent range.

The share of pessimistic respondents has also dropped sharply. Only 6.5 percent of CXOs now expect growth to slip below 6 percent, compared with 15.6 percent in the previous year’s survey, pointing to improving confidence in the domestic macroeconomic environment.

The government expect the Indian economy to grow 7.3 percent this fiscal year compared with 6.5 percent projected at the start of the year.

The World Bank and IMF now estimate the economy will grow around 6.5 percent next fiscal year.

Physical and digital infrastructure, a young and skilled workforce, and innovation and R&D factors were the primary drivers of growth over the next three years, according to CXOs.

Confidence is also visible in investment intentions. A significant proportion of companies plan to increase capital expenditure, technology upgrades and AI integration over the next 12 months, while hiring and R&D spending are expected to remain broadly supportive. Physical and digital infrastructure, manufacturing push and FTAs were cited as key drivers that could support India’s growth over the next three years.

That said, risks remain firmly on the radar. Geopolitical conflicts and trade fragmentation were ranked as the biggest global threats to business, followed by concerns over a global economic slowdown and cybersecurity risks. On the domestic front, policy uncertainty and slow reforms emerged as the top concern, ahead of infrastructure constraints and delays in trade agreements.

India, on January 27, announced the finalisation of a trade deal with the European Union, one of the eight signed in recent times.

CXOs also flagged rising protectionism, volatile capital flows and energy price shocks as medium-term risks that could weigh on growth momentum if global conditions worsen.

More than 83 percent noted that the Budget should try to address these constraints, a fact also mentioned in the economists survey conducted by Moneycontrol last week.

On the domestic front, there were uncertainties with regard to labour codes as well, with 35 percent respondents expecting costs to weigh on benefits from compliance simplification and another 17 percent unclear of the impact of newly notified codes.

On the investment front, CXOs again highlighted the need for simpler tax regimes, single-window clearances, and faster disposal of judicial cases as factors that could help attract investment.

Rate outlook

The outlook appears bright on the interest rate side as well, with over two-thirds of respondents expecting the central bank to cut rates in FY27. The Reserve Bank of India has cut rates by 125 basis points since the start of 2025, bringing the policy rate to 5.25 percent.

Over half of the respondents were confident in policymakers controlling inflation below the RBI’s target rate of 4 percent. India’s inflation is likely to average around 2 percent this fiscal, with the IMF projecting 4 percent inflation in the coming fiscal.

Long-term policy reforms needed on AI

The CXOs highlighted the need to create a comprehensive long-term policy framework and promote and support R&D for India to become a semiconductor technology hub.

Over 53 percent of respondents expect significant disruption emanating from AI adoption.