AI, resilience, and re-skilling define India’s corporate strategy for 2025: KPMG report

Despite a decline in global economic confidence, India’s CEOs are doubling down on growth. The KPMG 2025 India CEO Outlook presents a picture of guarded optimism where resilience, technology, and talent strategy are shaping the playbook for the next few years.

The survey registered 83% of Indian CEOs predicting three-year growth in their companies, a sharp increase from 68% in 2024 and the world average of 79%. The confidence, however, comes at the expense of weakened optimism in the global economy, which fell from 80% in 2024 to 63% in 2025, the lowest since 2023.

This, according to Yezdi Nagporewalla, CEO of KPMG India, can be put down to “resilience built through disruption along several dimensions.” Report's take-home message: corporate India's top management takes volatility in its stride by not retreating but retooling for the future.

AI Moves from Experimentation to Implementation

Artificial Intelligence is fast becoming the cornerstone of business strategy. Sixty-five percent of Indian CEOs sanction AI as a key investment decision, behind only the global average of 71%. More than half plan on spending 10-20% of their budget in the coming 12 months on AI, and 73% expect payback in one to three years.

The fundamental benefit, CEOs say, is the cleaner decision-making and more analytical skills, ranked first by 23% of Indian business executives as the top value deriving from the use of AI. Efficiency-driven cost saving, identifying fraud, and enhancing security are close second.

But there’s optimism moderated by pragmatism. Moral issues are the top obstacle to action, cited by 62% of Indian CEOs. Another 76% are afraid the regulatory systems are not moving quickly enough to keep up with technological change. Data preparedness and the shortage of skilled AI professionals add to the mix.

Akhilesh Tuteja, KPMG in India Partner and Head of Clients and Markets, summarises: “The objective is well defined – achieve material ROI yielding investor satisfaction. To that end, however, high-quality information, labour force preparedness, and governance models with attendant confidence building are essential.”

Information security moves up the agenda

With growing digital operations and the proliferation of AI systems, cyber risks are growing. Seventy-five percent of Indian CEOs see cybercrime as a possible threat to their company’s future success in the next three years. Identity theft and data privacy threats are at the top of their concern list.

To balance such risk, 42% of Indian CEOs, compared with 39% globally, have increased investments in cybersecurity and digital resilience. It's no longer a compliance tick box; it's business continuity.

The KPMG figures also reveal that cybersecurity ranks at the very top compared to all other priorities in mitigating risks, and integration with AI and compliance with regulations trail only behind them. Pattern noticed: Companies from India first develop defences and then innovate.

Agility Rather Than Authority: The Future Leadership Reality

The changing business landscape demands new skills in leadership. Speed and timely decisive action in stressful settings are the most essential skills required by 31% of CEOs in India, compared with 26% globally. Regulatory sophistication comes in second in India, which highlights the increasing need to adapt to modern compliance regimes. Meanwhile, international peers value communication and transparency more.

Hemant Jhajhria, KPMG Head of Consulting, says, “More than system, resilience demands leadership. CEOs must inject the operations with which they manage their businesses with more agility and develop cultures moving at least as rapidly as the marketplace moves.”

The attitude also signals the wider transformation occurring in corporate India’s boardroom, from the top-down mentality of boss-as-manager to dynamic, changing leadership.

Workforce Strategy Focused on Role Redesign and Reskilling

The rapid integration of AI is prompting organisations to rethink workforce plans. Nearly three quarters (74%) of Indian CEOs are certain that the next three years of the organisation’s future success rely on AI workforce preparedness. Another 70% are preparing to maintain and retain high-performing staff.

Skill gaps are still a top issue. A third of CEOs point to the lack of alignment in existing skills and needs around AI as a reason for not hiring. 81% indicate AI implementation made them reconsider required skills even for the most junior roles, a sharp increase from 66% in 2024.

In order to close the gap, leaders are upskilling, redeploying workers into AI enable activities, and creating new jobs in which human intuition and machine potential are combined. The message is clear: future competitiveness will be no less correlated with adaptability than with automatability.

ESG Confidence Increases, AI as Sustainability Catalyst

Sustainability changed from boardroom discussion to strategic implementation. Confidence among Indian CEOs in hitting their net-zero goals by 2030 rose from 36% in the prior year to 56% in 2025.

That optimism extends to regulatory preparedness in India are positive they can manage ESG compliance complexity versus 89% globally. Most are aligning the goals of sustainability with the very business model and no longer consider them standalone initiatives.

AI is also proving to be a main enabler here. Indian CEOs believe that AI can cut emissions and raise energy efficiency by some 77% and that it can also improve the quality and reporting in sustainability by 75%. Most are already working with governments in preparing for the transformation in regulation and are building partnerships in advancing green innovations in technology with 54%.

The transformation is thus encapsulated by Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, National Securities Depository Limited: “AI readiness, technological innovation, and skill building are emerging as key enablers of a future-orientated and resilient capital market.”

India's CEOs Make Bets On Resilience

The global mood may be careful, but India’s CEOs are making broader bets on technology, people, and transformation. Even if inflation, regulation, and cyber risk are near the top of their agenda, the desire to spend in difficult times shows unambiguous change in corporate confidence.

According to the research, "Indian CEOs are evaluating the qualities of leadership, rather than behaving reactively." While 2024 was the year of transition, 2025 will be the year of hastening. And for India Inc., the script is simple: stay resilient, stay prepared, and keep building while others hesitate.