Once known mainly for low-cost outsourcing, India has quietly rewritten its global technology story. Today, the country stands as the world’s leading destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), driving innovation, research, and digital transformation for multinational enterprises.
India currently hosts around 1,760–1,800 GCCs spread across Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. These centres employ nearly 1.9–2.0 million professionals and contribute over USD 64 billion in annual revenue as of 2025. What began as basic outsourcing has evolved into high-value work spanning R&D, AI, engineering, and IP-led innovation.
The journey began in 1998, when early captives such as GE Capital set up operations in Gurgaon, attracted by English-speaking talent and nearly 70% cost advantages. The early 2000s saw a call centre boom, with over 1 million people employed across cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad. By FY22, BPM revenues touched USD 44 billion, supported by multi-channel services like voice, email, and chat.
During the 2010s, India’s IT and BPO sector matured with analytics and digital services. Rising attrition pushed expansion into Tier-2 cities such as Pune and Jaipur. The post-COVID phase accelerated the GCC shift, with 1,760 centres handling nearly 1,000 end-to-end AI/ML projects and employing 1.9 million professionals. GCCs now lead nearly 40% of global AI charters and focus on innovation rather than pure operations.
Several factors have fueled this growth. India offers a deep talent pool of 1.9 million professionals and millions of STEM graduates each year. Operating costs remain 40–60% lower than Western markets, with GCC revenues projected to reach USD 100 billion by 2030. Fast technology adoption, operational resilience, scalable infrastructure, evolving data regulations, and global project exposure have further strengthened India’s position.
While major GCC clusters remain in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, and Delhi NCR, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities now account for 7% of centres, up from 5% earlier. Nearly 50% of new GCCs set up between 2021–2024 chose these cities, supported by targeted state incentives. Policies in states like Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka offer land subsidies, stamp duty exemptions, capital grants, and skilling reimbursements, reducing costs by 25–50% and attrition by nearly 30%.
Global firms such as JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, Bosch, Walmart, Intel, Qualcomm, Costco, Dai-ichi Life, and HCLTech continue to expand GCC operations across Indian cities, reinforcing the country’s strategic value.
Looking ahead, India is expected to host nearly 3,000 GCCs and create 2.5–2.8 million jobs by 2030, cementing its role as the global epicentre of GCC-led innovation.
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