How India Became the World’s GCC Hub: A Deep Dive

GCCs in India

India’s rise as a powerhouse for Global Capability Centers (GCCs) has been a result of sustained, strategic progress rather than a singular leap. It is the cumulative outcome of decades of growth driven by a highly skilled talent pool, robust infrastructure, a culture of innovation, and deliberate policy planning. From being regarded as a low-cost outsourcing hub, GCCs in India have evolved significantly — India is now an active player on the stage of digital transformation – empowering the business growth of companies globally. With more than 1700 GCCs operating, India now employs over 1.9 million people in the sector. This reflects the country’s incredible human capital and capability to provide high-value Digital and BPM (Business Process Management) services through GCCs.

This shift has changed the way the world sees India—not just as a place for support services, but as a key partner for research, product development, and leadership. For GCC leaders, this is the right time to reflect on how far we’ve come, think big, and plan the next steps. Let’s explore what made India the leader in this space, and what needs to be done to stay ahead.

A Quiet Revolution with a Loud Impact

With the beginning of the 21st century, when international firms began to set up shop in India, their primary focus was on minimizing cost. However, things started to change gradually. India ceased to be merely a back-office service provider and transformed into a global digital hub. Currently, India has over 1,700 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and in the previous five years, more than 400 new centres and over 1,100 new units have been established. This scale is unprecedented.

Why Set Up a GCC in India?

1. A Talent Engine Powered by Efficiency

The most notable feature of India is its talent, particularly in technology and engineering fields. Every year, over 1.5 million engineers graduate and there is a growing proportion of digitally literate workers. GCCs now seek employees not only for support service positions, but for higher level roles such as AI, Automation, Cybersecurity, Data science and Product management.

2. Time Zones That Enable Global Operations

India’s geographical location is also an advantage. It is in between the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, enabling work to be done around the clock. This makes India ideal for follow the sun service models, ensuring rapid decisions, prompt attention, and seamless business continuity.

3. Infrastructure That Keeps Pace with Ambition

India has invested heavily in both digital and physical infrastructure. From Bengaluru and Hyderabad to rising Tier 2 cities like Coimbatore, Kochi, and Ahmedabad—companies now have access to modern office spaces, reliable power, strong internet, and skilled people. This allows companies to expand beyond traditional metros without losing quality.

4. A Policy Landscape That Encourages Growth

India’s government has created a supportive environment for global businesses by:

• Easing rules for foreign investments (FDI)

• Implementing data protection laws

• Promoting digital platforms like India Stack

These moves have made India a safe, stable, and attractive place for long-term investments.

From Cost Centres to Innovation Engines

GCCs in India have grown beyond back-office tasks. Now, they lead core business functions:

• 53% of GCCs are focused on transformation, compared to just 18% a decade ago
• 44% have become portfolio hubs
• 6,500+ global roles are based in India, expected to hit 30,000+ by 2030

India’s GCCs are now the innovation labs where ideas are built, tested, and scaled. Additionally, more than 50% of GCCs have moved up to portfolio and transformation hubs, with a 40% CAGR increase in global roles and women leadership roles in the last five years.

Sector-Specific Centres of Excellence

Several areas of India’s economic development are concentrated in certain regions. Bengaluru is ahead in everything IT and Digital. Hyderabad has a base in BFSI and Pharmaceuticals. Pune has been traditionally hub Manufacturing and Engineering GCCs with recent growth of BFSI GCCs. This concentration contributes to delivering good quality work and attracting relevant sector skills. Almost 90% of the GCCs operate as multi-functional centres, supporting technology, operations, and product engineering.

Economic Impact: How GCCs Boost India’s Growth

India’s GCC economy is 64.6 billion USD and is projected to surpass 100 billion by the fiscal year of 2030. 1.9 million people are employed directly under GCC, and supporting this numbers grows 2 or 3 times more. The GCC supports larger economy by driving urbanization, boosting construction, enhancing the digital skills of citizen, and elevating Tier 2 cities.

ER&D GCCs have grown 1.3 times faster than the overall GCC growth rate, indicating a shift towards higher-value and more complex work to India. GCCs in India are increasingly focused on building AI capabilities and driving the AI transformation for their internal enterprises. A talent pool of over 120,000 AI/ML professionals and over 185 dedicated AI/ML COEs is helping build specific use cases, and the more mature GCCs are further developing expertise in full-stack development.

Global Comparison: What Makes India Different

India outperforms all countries in the number of GCCs and talent scale per capita. However, Poland and Mexico are improving due to new incentives, bilingual personnel, and their closeness to Western markets. The Philippines still tops the list in customer services. However, India outshines other countries with the ability to scale complex, tech- heavy operations—especially in AI and R&D.

Emerging Opportunities: Beyond the Obvious

India’s GCCs are growing into new areas like:

• Generative AI

• Clean energy

• Healthcare analytics

• Advanced manufacturing

Technology adoption is also picking up fast:

• 44% use Hybrid Cloud

• 40% rely on Advanced Analytics

• 38% are using SaaS platforms

More than 80% of top global companies are renegotiating their BPM contracts to focus more on value, data insights, and outcomes—less on just people and process.

Navigating Challenges to Sustain GCC Leadership

While India continues to solidify its position as a global leader in the GCC ecosystem, several critical challenges must be addressed to maintain this momentum:

• Talent Attrition and Wage Inflation High employee turnover rates, particularly in niche technology roles, coupled with escalating salary expectations, are impacting talent stability and increasing the cost of operations for GCCs.

• Regulatory Hurdles in Cross-Border Data Flows Complex and evolving regulations concerning data localization and cross-border data transfer, especially under global frameworks like GDPR, create compliance challenges for sectors such as BFSI and healthcare.

• Rising Competition from Emerging GCC Destinations Countries like Vietnam, the UAE, and Poland are positioning themselves as alternative GCC destinations, offering cost advantages, investor-friendly policies, and rapid regulatory clearances.

• Infrastructure Bottlenecks in Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities While Tier 2/3 cities present opportunities for decentralization, they face limitations in physical infrastructure, urban amenities, and connectivity, which could impede scalability and attractiveness for new investments.

Addressing these challenges through strategic interventions will be vital for India to retain its competitive edge in the evolving global GCC landscape.

India’s Future GCC Trajectory

The possibilities are endless. In the next several years, more than 250 new centres are anticipated to be set up. By 2030, GCCs are anticipated to support 2.2-2.8 million jobs and generate ~105 billion revenue through GCCs.

The Leadership Opportunity

For Senior Leaders driving GCC operations in India, the mandate goes far beyond delivery excellence. It is about helping global organizations see India not just as a location, but as a capability partner. It’s about identifying emerging sectors, exploring underserved geographies, and building solutions that go deeper, move faster, and scale wider.

India is already the world’s GCC hub. The real opportunity now lies in defining what comes next—how we lead, innovate, and grow from here.

Let’s move from capacity to capability, from delivery to innovation.