India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) recorded a steady 5–7% quarter-on-quarter increase in hiring during the second quarter of FY26, according to a report by Quess Corp, a leading workforce and staffing solutions company. The growth marks a transition from large-scale headcount expansion to focused capability-building, with rising demand in areas such as artificial intelligence and data, platform engineering, cloud and FinOps, and cybersecurity.
The report identified key sectors driving GCC expansion, including Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), Manufacturing, Automotive, Energy, Technology, and Hardware.
- BFSI: Growth in AI-enabled credit and risk operations
- Manufacturing: Demand driven by electric vehicle and smart factory programmes
- Technology and Hardware: Focus on semiconductor and embedded AI development
Hiring investments are increasingly being directed toward critical and resilience-focused business functions such as platform engineering, data management, and FinOps.
City-wise hiring trends
- Bengaluru: 26% share, driven by advanced AI and FinOps roles
- Hyderabad: 22% share, led by multi-cloud integration and data reliability
- Pune: 15% share
- Chennai: 12% share
“India’s GCC evolution is entering its most strategic phase yet, one defined by precision, not proliferation. Q2 reflected a measured 5–7% QoQ hiring growth, highlighting a shift from scale to capability-led maturity,” said Kapil Joshi, CEO – IT Staffing, Quess Corp.
Role-specific insights
- AI and Data Science roles saw an 8% rise
- FinOps-driven cloud hiring grew by 6%
These trends underline the focus of GCCs on performance optimisation, cost efficiency, and enterprise resilience.
GCC ecosystem outlook
India currently has around 1,850 active GCCs employing over 2 million professionals, with projections to reach 2.5 million by 2030. Sustainable growth will depend on strengthening tier-2 delivery centres, investing in skill development, and adopting capability-based operating models.
The Q2 FY26 data highlights India’s evolution as a global hub for AI, cloud, and platform engineering-driven operations, with GCCs prioritising strategic capabilities over scale.
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