A new industry assessment shows that Indian companies remain exposed to multiple critical business risks, yet only a small fraction formally quantify them. The report, released by Marsh India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), highlights growing vulnerabilities across sectors even as organisations accelerate digital transformation and expand into global markets.
According to the study, senior executives acknowledged that risks linked to geopolitics, cyberattacks, supply-chain disruptions and extreme weather events have intensified over the last year. Despite this, fewer than one in five companies currently quantify the financial impact of such risks. The report notes that most firms continue to rely on qualitative judgments, leaving leadership teams without data-driven insights to prioritise mitigation efforts or plan capital allocation.
Cyber risk remains the most significant concern for Indian businesses, especially with the rapid rise in cloud adoption and generative AI tools. Executives cited challenges such as lack of skilled cyber professionals, limited visibility into third-party vulnerabilities and increasingly sophisticated ransomware attacks. The report also warns that climate-related disruptions—including floods, heatwaves and erratic monsoon patterns—are likely to create financial and operational shocks for companies that have yet to integrate climate modelling into their risk frameworks.
The assessment further found that supply-chain fragility continues to affect sectors such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and retail, with many organisations still dependent on single-source suppliers. Only a small share of firms map sub-tier (fourth-party) dependencies, leaving them unprepared for cascading failures.
Marsh and CII emphasised that Indian corporates need to shift toward quantification tools, scenario modelling and real-time monitoring to achieve true resilience. Organisations that embed data-driven risk intelligence, the report states, will be better positioned to withstand global volatility and protect long-term growth.
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