Other BriefingsIndia Climate Risk Advisory: Localizing Your Business Continuity Plans
India’s economy is fast-growing but also prone to natural and environmental risks, from cyclones and floods to heatwaves and water scarcity. Businesses can safeguard operations by developing localized Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) tailored to regional hazards, infrastructure challenges, and regulations.
India’s economy, projected to grow 6.6 percent in 2025, is supported by accelerated industrial output and rapid digital expansion. Yet the same factors driving growth also expose businesses to high environmental risks. According to the Climate Risk Index 2025 by Germanwatch, India ranks sixth globally for being affected by extreme weather events.
Further, according to a World Risk Report published in 2024, 60 percent of India’s land is prone to seismic activity and 80 percent of its coastline is exposed to cyclones – conditions that directly affect operations, supply chains, and workforce safety.
For companies expanding in India, resilience has become a strategic necessity. Tailored business continuity plans (BCPs) help anticipate local hazards, maintain operations during crises, and safeguard long-term competitiveness in this dynamic but risk-prone market.
India Briefing explains how companies can build localized, resource-focused BCPs that strengthen resilience, ensure compliance, and support long-term operational stability in a complex regulatory landscape.
Business exposure and preparedness gaps
Businesses in India are prone to underestimating the scale and frequency of disruptions. As per a 2024 report by Think Teal, an IT analyst firm, 40 percent of Indian enterprises lack a formal Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) strategy, and nearly half review their plans only once every three years. This limited preparedness leaves companies vulnerable to prolonged downtime, supply disruptions, and workforce displacement.
Without clear recovery frameworks, organizations risk financial losses and reputational damage that can erode investor confidence and weaken long-term competitiveness. Organizations that fail to strengthen continuity systems risk losing both market share and stakeholder trust when natural or infrastructure shocks occur.
Impact of India’s Environmental and Climatic Risks
India’s diverse geography exposes businesses to a wide range of environmental hazards. Floods, cyclones, droughts, and landslides routinely disrupt industries from agriculture and textiles to retail and technology. In 2024, Cyclone Remal caused extensive damage along the eastern coast, halting manufacturing and logistics in parts of West Bengal and Odisha. In the northeast state of Assam, floods destroyed transport links and affected agricultural output, while landslides in Kerala disrupted supply chains and communications in the southern region.
Urban centers face growing systemic risks as well. India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, continues to struggle with water scarcity, threatening the city’s tech and services sectors, while the National Capital Region (NCR) yearly endures heatwaves and pollution-induced restrictions that slow operational efficiencies and strain energy infrastructure. Together, these events demonstrate how climate stress and rapid urbanization are creating new layers of business risk, making localized, proactive continuity planning a necessity rather than an afterthought.
From hazard-focused to resource-focused planning
Traditional business continuity planning in India has often focused on single hazards, i.e., earthquakes, floods, or power outages, treated as isolated events. While these plans address immediate threats, they fail to capture the growing reality of a poly-crisis environment, where simultaneous disruptions, such as pandemics, heatwaves, and energy shortages, compound one another and strain conventional continuity systems.
A single event, such as a cyclone, can trigger cascading impacts; flooding that damages warehouses, disrupts logistics, and coincides with labor shortages or cyber incidents. In such conditions, resilience depends less on predicting each hazard and more on maintaining flexibility across operations.
Localizing the business continuity plan for India
India’s diverse geography and complex administrative setup require firms to adapt their continuity strategies to local realities, addressing regional hazards, infrastructure gaps, and workforce diversity.
Risk-based scenario planning
Continuity planning should begin with a dual-layer approach that considers both regional hazards and cyclical risks. Coastal states such as Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu require cyclone and flood preparedness protocols, while northern regions need seismic safety audits and structural resilience checks. Urban centers like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai face recurring monsoon floods and pollution emergencies that can halt operations and logistics. Conducting location-specific risk assessments allows companies to design playbooks that respond to the unique vulnerabilities of each site rather than relying on generic procedures.
An example of climate-related business disruption occurred during the 2015 Chennai floods, which severely impacted the city’s industrial and manufacturing base. Over 10,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) suffered production halts, leading to estimated losses exceeding INR 17 billion (US$193.11 million) and widespread job displacement affecting over 50,000 workers. Prolonged rainfall and flooding also forced major automotive manufacturers in the region to temporarily suspend operations, further amplifying economic losses.
The event made transparent the need for stronger disaster resilience planning across the private sector. Subsequent preparedness measures, such as coordinated response teams, standby medical units, and emergency equipment – helped mitigate risks during later weather events like Cyclone Roanu in 2016.
Businesses are not only among the first to suffer during extreme weather events but also play a pivotal role in enabling cities to recover and rebuild more effectively.
Infrastructure contingencies
Infrastructure disruptions, such as power outages, damaged communication lines, or transportation bottlenecks, are among the most immediate threats during crises. Companies should invest in backup power supplies, alternative communication channels, and cloud-based data recovery systems to keep critical functions running. Local decision-making authority is equally important. Empowering site managers to act independently when headquarters are unreachable ensures timely responses and minimizes downtime.
Inclusive communication
Effective communication determines how quickly teams can respond and recover. In India’s multilingual workplace, relying solely on English is insufficient. Businesses should establish multilingual alert systems that deliver emergency updates in English, Hindi, and relevant regional languages. These updates can be sent via SMS, internal apps, or designated phone lines. Making instructions clear and accessible to all employees reduces confusion and strengthens coordination during an emergency.
Community and stakeholder collaboration
Building resilience also requires collaboration beyond company boundaries. Firms can coordinate with local authorities, embassies, and industry associations to access shared resources, evacuation support, and updated risk information. Participation in local disaster management initiatives or mutual aid networks enhances both response speed and goodwill. By aligning corporate crisis plans with broader community efforts, companies can help accelerate recovery for the regions in which they operate.
Aligning with India’s regulatory and investment climate
An effective BCP in India must go beyond operational safeguards. It needs to align with the country’s evolving regulatory and investment frameworks. India’s business environment is shaped by a multi-layered system of central and state government regulations, each governing critical aspects of finance, labor, environment, and data management. Integrating regulatory requirements into crisis response frameworks helps firms recover faster and maintain credibility with regulators and investors.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) provides mechanisms for corporate recovery and debt resolution during financial distress. Organizations should understand how insolvency triggers and creditor claims interact with business interruption events to ensure timely action and safeguard assets. Similarly, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) sets stringent rules for data storage, transfer, and breach reporting. Firms must incorporate cybersecurity and data resilience into their BCPs, ensuring secure backups, rapid recovery, and adherence to local data residency requirements.
Environmental regulations also play a central role. Companies in the manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy sectors must comply with federal and state pollution control laws and environmental impact assessments, which can directly affect post-disaster recovery and reconstruction timelines.
At the same time, India’s policy landscape offers strong incentives for long-term investment and industrial growth. Companies leveraging initiatives like Make in India and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes should align their continuity plans with the safety, sustainability, and localization standards required for incentive eligibility.
Embedding regulatory awareness into continuity planning not only minimizes compliance risks but also strengthens corporate credibility in India’s reform-driven market. Ultimately, a continuity plan grounded in legal, environmental, and policy realities builds resilience that is both operationally sound and strategically aligned.
(US$1 = INR 88.03)
(With inputs from Archana Rao.)
About Us
India Briefing is one of five regional publications under the Asia Briefing brand. It is supported by Dezan Shira & Associates, a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm that assists foreign investors throughout Asia, including through offices in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru in India. Dezan Shira & Associates also maintains offices or has alliance partners assisting foreign investors in China, Hong Kong SAR, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Mongolia, Dubai (UAE), Japan, South Korea, Nepal, The Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Italy, Germany, Bangladesh, Australia, United States, and United Kingdom and Ireland.
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