As the undisputed global hub for Global Capability Centers (GCCs), India is expected to host more than 1,900 centers by 2025, employing 2.1 million professionals and producing $68 billion in direct economic value. To gain a competitive edge, founders, CTOs, and product heads assessing strategic expansion must have a thorough understanding of India’s GCC ecosystem.
Over the past decade, India’s GCC sector has expanded rapidly, evolving from cost-focused back offices to strategic innovation hubs, propelling global enterprise transformation.
Centers, Revenue, and Employment in India’s GCC Growth Trajectory (2015-2030)
The ecosystem has grown from 800 centers in 2015 that brought in $20 billion to 1,900 centers that brought in $68 billion by 2025, with estimates showing 2,400 centers and $110 billion in revenue by 2030. This is a compound annual growth rate of 13%, which is much higher than the majority of service sectors worldwide.
The impact on employment is equally compelling: 2.1 million professionals in 2025 are expected to grow to 2.8 million by 2030, generating high-value jobs on a scale that is unparalleled in the world.
The most advanced businesses in the world have made remarkably confident strategic bets on India’s GCC ecosystem.
GCC Expansion of Fortune 500 Companies in India (2015-2025)
Over 950,000 professionals are employed by 174 Fortune 500 companies that currently run 390+ GCCs in India. This amounts to 35% of the Fortune 500, which is a significant increase from 22% in 2015. Even more notable is the fact that more than 67% of the Fortune Global 30 have GCC companies in India, including industry titans like Microsoft, Google, Boeing, Qualcomm, Walmart, Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs.
These aren’t auxiliary tasks. With senior functional leaders handling global P&L responsibilities and functioning as Centers of Excellence for AI, GenAI, cybersecurity, and product engineering, Indian GCCs are now used as “second headquarters.”
India’s GCC ecosystem provides strategic geographic diversity that lowers risk and maximizes costs, even though Bangalore still holds a dominant position.
GCC Distribution by City in India (2025)
Bangalore leads with 487 GCCs (25.6%), thanks to its startup culture, unmatched tech ecosystem, and more than 680,000 GCC workers. However, Savvy founders are expanding beyond Bangalore. Hyderabad is home to 273 centers (14.4%), has strong pharma/biotech capabilities, and has real estate prices that are 20–30% lower than Bangalore.
Chennai (162 centers), Pune (178 centers), Mumbai (207 centers), and Delhi NCR (272 centers) all provide unique benefits in particular fields. Importantly, 321 GCCs (16.9%) are housed in Tier-2 cities overall, offering 50% lower operating costs and access to new talent pools in places like Jaipur, Coimbatore, Chandigarh, and Visakhapatnam.
The GCC ecosystem in India exhibits exceptional sectoral breadth, supporting high-value, complex functions across industries.
India’s GCC distribution by sector (2025)
IT-ITeS is the largest sector at 50%, followed by Banking, Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI) at 17%, Retail/CPG at 14%, Healthcare at 12%, and Automotive at 11%. This variety demonstrates India’s capacity to manage domain-intensive tasks in addition to all technical work.
Currently, thirty percent of GCC centers are global hubs for analytics and artificial intelligence, and fifty percent of centers have end-to-end product delivery mandates. Functions go well beyond the transactional work of previous eras and include R&D, product design, cybersecurity, advanced analytics, global operations, and strategic decision-making.
GCCs have a significant economic impact on India’s economy, not just the businesses that run them.
GCC Economic Effects on India’s Economy (FY25)
With $76 billion in direct output, $61 billion in indirect supply chain effects, and $104 billion in induced consumption impact, India’s GCC sector produced $241 billion in total economic activity in FY25. In FY25, this amounts to 2% of India’s GDP, which is expected to grow to $0.5 trillion by 2035.
Productivity gains are equally notable: GCC workers earn $32,500 in GVA per capita, which is equivalent to that of South Korea and Japan and 11 times the national average for India. High-value, high-skilled work centered on advanced analytics, digital transformation, and strategic mandates is the source of this extraordinary productivity.
Founders must make important choices regarding the GCC structure, with each model providing unique benefits according to timeframe, control needs, and risk tolerance.
Comparison of GCC Setup Models: Risk, Control, Investment, and Time (2025)
Captive (Wholly Owned) With an initial investment of ₹15 crore and a setup time of 9 months, the model offers 100% control and long-term cost efficiency with a cost multiplier of 1.65x. Perfect for work involving intellectual property and long-term strategic commitment.
The Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Model has a higher cost multiplier (1.80x), but it offers the quickest launch (2.5 months) with a mere ₹3 crore investment. Best suited for quick market entry followed by a change of ownership.
With an investment of ₹8 crore and a setup time of 4.5 months, the hybrid model strikes a balance between efficiency and control (85%). Ideal for businesses looking to outsource support functions while maintaining specialized core teams.
For startups evaluating India before committing fully, Virtual Captive offers an incredibly quick 2-month setup with a minimal ₹2 crore investment and the lowest risk (3/10).
Hiring trends in the GCC show a strategic shift toward high-value skills and emerging technologies.
Employment Trends in the GCC by Role Category: Growth & Share (2025)
With 31% of hiring, software engineering continues to lead, but there is more momentum in data and analytics (18% share, 24% growth) and cloud architecture (12% share, 28% growth). The three fastest-growing industries—cybersecurity (35% YoY growth), AI/ML (32% growth), and DevOps (22% growth)—all outpace market expansion as a whole.
To balance cost, capability, and adaptability, 48% of GCC companies intend to increase their workforce in FY26, with an emphasis on early-career lateral talent with 1–5 years of experience. The fact that 40% of hiring in 2025 is anticipated to be replacement hires, however, indicates that retention issues are becoming more prevalent.
As a result of distributed workforce strategies that are changing the commercial real estate market, 78% of hiring targets hybrid roles. In 2024, the GCCs leased 28 million square feet of office space, and in 2025, they were still very active.
Indian GCCs are quickly evolving from service delivery hubs to centers of AI-native innovation.
With generative AI and automation as their primary strategies, more than 70% of Indian GCC countries have established 185+ AI/ML Centers of Excellence. While 70% of current GCCs are growing AI-focused teams, 40% of newly formed GCCs in India now have AI/ML as their main charter.
Predictive analytics driven by AI, financial services fraud detection, supply chain management using blockchain, and sophisticated cybersecurity are examples of significant innovation initiatives. In Bengaluru, businesses such as AiDash set up AI Centers of Excellence with a focus on geospatial analytics and remote sensing.
Over 120,000 professionals are being trained in AI/ML capabilities by GCCs, ensuring that India’s talent remains at the forefront of technological advancement. This upskilling momentum is remarkable.
Through extensive incentive programs, the central and state governments of India actively compete to draw in GCC investments.
SEZs provide no GST on exported services and a five-year, 50%, and 100% income tax exemption on export earnings. According to Uttar Pradesh’s 2024 GCC policy, R&D collaborations can receive 50% rent reimbursement, up to ₹2 crore per year.
With capital subsidies, single-window clearance, and specialized concierge services, Karnataka’s GCC Policy 2024–2029 seeks to double GCCs to 1,000 by 2029. The Gujarat GCC Policy 2025–2030 provides fast-track approvals and subsidized land as incentives for the establishment of GIFT Cities.
By lowering effective setup costs by some percentage points, these policies can significantly increase return on investment for founders who are prepared to negotiate the incentive landscape.
Beyond just numbers, the GCC’s success is demonstrated by revolutionary business results.
With India poised to rank among PepsiCo’s top three worldwide markets, the Indian GCC countries have transformed from cost centers into strategic assets integrated into the supply chain, manufacturing, and marketing. To supervise these crucial operations, the CEO and other top executives now travel to India regularly.
Indian GCCs are used by major Fortune 500 companies for high-stakes tasks like global risk analytics by JPMorgan Chase, technology platform management by Goldman Sachs, product innovation by Amazon, and aerospace engineering by Boeing.
Dozens of mid-sized businesses have been able to start operations in 60–90 days with no capital expenditures thanks to the Build-Operate-Transfer model, demonstrating that the advantages of the GCC are not just for tech behemoths.
Examining every element throughout the setup lifecycle is necessary to determine the actual GCC costs.
Depending on the model and location, the initial setup costs for a center with 100 employees range from ₹5-15 crore ($600K-$1.8M). Compared to Eastern Europe or Latin America, the average annual operating costs per employee are 30–40% lower, at $25,000.
Bangalore’s real estate costs between 80 and 150 per square foot per year, Hyderabad’s between 60 and 120, Pune’s between 50 and 100, Chennai’s between 60 and 110, and GIFT City’s between 40 and 80. Tier-2 cities provide 50% cost savings without compromising the caliber of talent.
Total cost modeling must account for talent acquisition expenses (₹50–2 crore), regulatory compliance (₹10–50 lakh per year), and technology infrastructure. However, when properly leveraged, government incentives can offset 10–20% of total costs.
The GCC ecosystem in India provides founders considering international expansion with unparalleled advantages in terms of talent depth, cost-effectiveness, innovation capacity, and speed to scale.
The issue is not whether India should be part of your global strategy, but rather how quickly you can put it into action. The first-mover advantage in certain talent pools and real estate is eroding as 174 Fortune 500 companies already run 390+ centers.
The ecosystem is mature enough that there are established playbooks for every industry and function. Founders can align structure with strategy, risk tolerance, and timeframe thanks to the range of setup models available. The framework for government support lowers obstacles that discouraged previous entrants.
The movement in global enterprise strategy from labor arbitrage to capability building, from transaction processing to strategic transformation, and from peripheral operations to core business drivers is reflected in India’s GCC transformation from cost centers to innovation hubs.
India’s GCC ecosystem is evolving into a crucial piece of infrastructure for 21st-century business success for founders who are dedicated to creating multinational corporations at competitive prices with access to top talent.
