India’s corporate sector is experiencing multiple waves of growth. Markets are stable, the economy is strong, and Indians are finding themselves spoilt for choice as various countries offer easier visas. One of the latest waves attracting significant investment is the rise of Global Capability Centers (GCCs).
Not only are foreign companies setting up GCCs, but Indian companies are also building these facilities to enhance their technology capabilities. In the past 2-4 years, major companies like the Adani Group, Reliance Industries, Bank of Baroda, and others have established around 50 such centers across sectors like telecom, automotive, and financial services.
What’s Driving This Trend?
One of the primary motivations for Indian companies to establish GCCs is to avoid duplicating resources—a practice taken from multinational corporations. As Indian companies grow in size and expand their operations across geographies, streamlining operations and adopting a leaner business model becomes essential. Setting up GCCs offers a solution to achieve this.
Legacy companies are also recognizing the need for a centralized tech strategy and talent pool, especially as technology evolves rapidly and disrupts industries. While these companies may not always label their facilities as GCCs, they often refer to them as technology centers, innovation/R&D labs, or centers of excellence. Despite the different names, these facilities serve purposes similar to GCCs.
Top Players Leading the Way
One of India’s largest conglomerates, the Adani Group, incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary, Adani GCC Pvt. Ltd., in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on September 24. According to regulatory filings, this subsidiary will provide business transformation services, back-office operations including finance & accounts, human resources, and IT & ITeS on a shared basis for group companies.
Many companies are opting to set up centralized facilities in smaller cities and Gujarat’s GIFT City due to the lower costs, availability of talent, and reduced attrition rates, industry experts say.
Dr. Reddy’s is another major player, having inaugurated a 70,000 sq ft biologics facility at Genome Valley in Hyderabad for its group company, Aurigene Pharmaceutical Services, in June this year. Similarly, in August, Reliance Industries announced its plans to expand R&D efforts within India, focusing on innovation.
Public sector lender Bank of Baroda has also entered the scene with its wholly owned subsidiary, Baroda Sun Technologies, which works on the bank’s digital transformation and acts as an innovation hub for new-age technologies.
While these facilities may not yet match the scale of traditional IT firms, significant investments are already flowing in. This will likely result in a growing headcount and more efficient operations for these large companies in the future.
GCCs Catching Up
According to Lalit Ahuja, founder and chief executive of ANSR, which helps companies establish GCCs in India “Traditionally, it has been global companies setting up GCCs in India, but now we’re seeing Indian enterprises embracing this powerful model. This shift highlights the transformative potential of the GCC framework—not just for optimising operations but for delivering value and strategic growth. One of the most significant benefits of Indian enterprises setting up GCCs is the ability to tap into the global talent pool traditionally hired by multinationals.
ANSR has engaged with approximately 10 Indian companies to establish their Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India. Experts note that hubs like Coimbatore and Ahmedabad are becoming increasingly attractive for GCC setups due to state government incentives, established educational institutions, access to highly skilled talent, and lower operational costs compared to major metropolitan areas.
India, recognized as the global GCC hub, is currently home to over 1,700 such centers—around 17% of the global total—employing about 1.9 million people. According to a Nasscom-Zinnov India GCC landscape report released in September, this number is projected to rise to 2,100-2,200 centers, with the workforce expected to grow to 2.5-2.8 million by 2030. By that time, the revenue contribution from GCCs to India’s IT sector is anticipated to increase from $64.6 billion last year to $99-105 billion.
However, a challenge remains for domestic companies, as they may not benefit as much from the cost savings that attract offshore firms to India. An expert from a Big 4 consultancy firm pointed out that to realize the cost advantage, Indian companies will need to significantly improve productivity by deploying technology at scale for a meaningful cost-benefit analysis.
Talent and Global Roles
Over the past five years, the number of global roles in India has also surged significantly, with over 6,500 such positions now established. Notably, more than 1,100 of these roles are held by women in leadership positions.
Since FY2019, the average Global Capability Center (GCC) talent pool has grown by approximately 24%, reaching over 1,130 employees by FY2024.
The GCC ecosystem in India has experienced rapid growth, positioning the country for continued expansion. Key priorities such as skill development, cybersecurity, and progressive policy frameworks have strengthened India’s role as a hub for high-end engineering and strategic partnerships, catering to the evolving needs of global companies. This has fueled innovation and sustainable practices, according to a Nasscom-Zinnov report.
Between FY2019 and FY2024, more than 400 new GCCs and 1,100 new centers were established in India. Over 90% of these centers now function as multi-disciplinary hubs, supporting technology, operations, and product engineering.
With the exponential growth of AI, Indian GCCs are increasingly focusing on AI capabilities, becoming pivotal in AI transformation within their enterprises. Today, India houses over 120,000 AI professionals, with 30% of AI Centers of Excellence (COEs) located in Software & Internet GCCs.
More than 185 GCCs have set up dedicated AI/ML COEs, exploring use cases in areas like customer experience, risk assessment, demand forecasting, model deployment, and coding assistance. As GCCs mature, they are further developing expertise in full-stack development, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity, creating advanced solutions for both global and emerging markets.
According to Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov, “India has undeniably become the GCC capital of the world. We now have over 1,700 GCCs in India, employing more than 1.9 million professionals. What’s remarkable is how these GCCs are not just scaling, but driving high-value portfolios and transformation hubs, with increasing product ownership from India. The new digital tech narrative, including Gen AI and automation, is being shaped largely through the Centers of Excellence model. India has truly become a microcosm of global organizations.”
Natarajan added, “Looking ahead to 2030, we anticipate that 70% of Fortune 500 companies will expand their presence in India. The writing is on the wall—India is no longer just part of the global tech narrative; we’re authoring it.”
