The Changing Face of GCCs in India: A Guide for Employers and Job Seekers

GCCs are reshaping the business landscape in India, transforming the country from a low-cost support destination into a global hub for innovation, engineering, and strategic decision-making. Over the past decade, this sector has grown rapidly, expanding beyond back-office operations to drive product development, digital transformation, AI adoption, cybersecurity, and advanced analytics for Fortune 500 companies. With India now hosting one of the world’s largest GCC ecosystems, the shift is unlocking new economic value, creating diverse job roles, and redefining talent expectations.

For job seekers, this evolution presents abundant opportunities to build future-ready careers across domains that blend technology, business, and problem-solving. For employers—especially GCC leaders—the challenge is to attract, develop, and retain high-quality talent in an increasingly competitive ecosystem.

This article addresses both perspectives by outlining the key recommendations job seekers should act on and the strategic priorities employers must embrace for long-term growth in India’s evolving GCC landscape.

Factors Driving the GCC Growth in India

As of FY 2024–25, India hosts over 1,700 GCCs, accounting for nearly half of all GCCs worldwide, generating USD 64.6 billion in annual revenue and employing 1.9–2.0 million professionals. By 2030, the GCC market in India is projected to expand to 2,100–2,200 in numbers, with a value of USD 99–105 billion and employment rising to 2.5–2.8 million. 

A defining shift driving this growth is the transition from traditional cost arbitrage to capability arbitrage. GCCs are no longer limited to transactional functions; instead, they increasingly anchor strategic and innovation-led functions such as product engineering, R&D, AI/ML, data science, regulatory compliance, cloud-native development, and digital product management. This evolution has positioned many India-based GCCs as global Centres of Excellence and product innovation hubs.

The ecosystem is also seeing significant sectoral diversification. Beyond IT and BFSI, industries such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, retail, and manufacturing are expanding their footprints in India. These centres now handle domain-specific work, including clinical data operations, regulatory affairs, supply-chain analytics, and digital commerce, driving demand for specialised talent.

Geographically, GCC growth is spreading from metros to tier-2 and tier-3 cities like Chandigarh, Kochi, Coimbatore, and Vizag. Competitive real-estate costs, expanding infrastructure, and proactive state incentive policies—including those in Karnataka—are fuelling this next phase of expansion.

Another notable trend is the rise of local leadership. GCCs are creating senior roles such as heads of product and global business leads within India, reflecting a shift toward end-to-end ownership of global portfolios.

Coupled with this, accelerated adoption of AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and automation, and a strong emphasis on skilling and academic partnerships, is enabling GCCs to scale high-value capabilities and meet evolving demands. 

Together, these factors are powering the robust and sustained growth of India’s GCC landscape. 

Related Reads

Legal and Regulatory Compliance for Global Capability Center (GCCs) in India

Meeting GCC Demand: Actionable Strategies for Employers

Transform GCCs into Capability & Innovation Hubs

Shift from cost-centric delivery to end-to-end capability ownership. Redesign GCC charters with KPIs linked to innovation, product impact, global portfolio ownership, and time-to-market. This positions the GCC as a strategic engine rather than a support function.

Build Future-Ready, Scalable Talent Pipelines

Move beyond transactional hiring. Invest in competency frameworks, campus partnerships, apprenticeships, and continuous upskilling. Prioritise skills in AI/ML, cloud, cybersecurity, data engineering, automation, and deep domain expertise. Strengthen both early-career and senior technical leadership pipelines.

Localise Leadership & Strengthen Decision-Making in India

Create senior, India-based global leadership roles — such as Head of Product, Global Engineering Lead, or CTO. Empower them with P&L or charter ownership. This improves agility, strengthens accountability, and boosts employee retention. 

Adopt a Hub-and-Spoke Model Backed by Strong Tech Foundations

Use metros for innovation, R&D, and high-complexity functions, while expanding tier-2/3 centres for specialised, cost-efficient delivery. Support this model with cloud-native architectures, MLOps, SRE, secure data platforms and AI-driven automation to scale productivity across locations.

Strengthen Governance, Partnerships & Employee Value Propositions

Build robust data governance, cybersecurity controls, IP protection, and compliance frameworks as the GCC takes on more strategic mandates. At the same time, enhance EVPs through internal mobility, hybrid models and performance-linked rewards. Expand partnerships with universities, startups, and skilling institutions to accelerate employee capability-building and drive innovation.

Evolving Career Opportunities: What Job Seekers Can Do?

Build In-demand Technical Skills & Domain Expertise
Focus on high-value skills that GCCs increasingly demand — such as AI/ML, data engineering, MLOps, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, and automation. At the same time, deepen your domain knowledge in healthcare, pharma, retail, fintech, etc.  Combine strong technical skills with domain fluency to be more attractive for GCC roles that involve strategy and product-centric work.

Create Production-Ready Projects & Portfolios
Invest time in building hands-on, outcome-focused projects that go beyond proofs-of-concept. Demonstrate your ability to design, deploy, monitor, and optimise real-world solutions (for example, ML models in production, data pipelines, or cloud-native microservices). Show measurable impact — performance gains, cost savings, or business metrics — to prove you’ve worked at a level that GCCs value.

Be Flexible About Job Location & Role
Consider opportunities in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, where GCCs are expanding aggressively, and growth/ownership are increasing. Also, aim for roles that demand a mix of technical skills, business impact, and leadership 

Plan for Long-Term Growth & Negotiate Smart
Think of your GCC career in a 3- to 5-year timeframe. Seek rotational programs, internships, or apprenticeships to gain visibility and internal ownership. Negotiate, not just on salary, but also on bonus, equity, learning, and career growth opportunities. Demonstrate your impact (past projects, business outcomes) during interviews to make a strong case for higher pay or strategic roles.

GCC ecosystem in India is steadily moving into a more advanced and capability-driven phase. As organisations expand their global operations from India, building strong talent pipelines, strengthening local leadership, and scaling technology efficiency will be essential for sustained progress. For job seekers, aligning skills and career planning with these shifts can lead to meaningful opportunities across emerging roles and domains. The long-term growth of GCCs will depend on how well employers adapt to evolving needs and how effectively professionals embrace new career growth opportunities. 

Frequently Asked Questions