2024 saw Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India growing at a robust 16 per cent nationally, with the major cities vying with one another to attract and welcome MNCs.
The total number of GCC units in India grew at around 16 per cent in 2024 while the number of jobs grew by around 20 per cent, as per analysis of data from from ANSR Research, a consulting firm helping GCCs set up in India. As of December 2024, there are over 2,900 GCC units in India with some companies having multiple units across cities. The GCC workforce stands at around 1.9 million.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which have emerged as GCC capitals, saw the maximum number of new GCC units (in absolute terms) in 2024. However, the rate of growth in number of GCCs was in the range of 15-16 per cent across all top cities including Pune, Chennai, Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. Tier 2 cities such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and others grew their GCC base faster but with a smaller base of just around 145 units between all of them.
While 2024 saw new GCC creation across all top cities, the workforce numbers paint a different picture. The growth in number of professionals working in GCCs grew the maximum in Chennai at around 26.7 per cent. Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which are bigger hubs but are approaching a state of saturation, saw a growth of 20 per cent in GCC workforce.
Chennai takes top spot
Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, partner at advisory firm Catalincs, said that Chennai has historically been a hub for GCCs for large enterprises across industries. “Three of the top five US and UK banks have their GCCs here and such large enterprises generate employment at scale,” he added.
Sectorally, most of India’s GCCs are those of software /technology sector. Global banking and financial services firms and healthcare majors are others flocking to India to set up their centres.
“2024 has seen a big shift in the regulatory environment and government support for GCCs,” Vikram Ahuja, co-founder, ANSR, said. “Karnataka recently released a one-of-its kind state GCC policy recently, and we know of at least six other states currently working on such policies,” he adds.
In terms of skills, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning was the most sought out by GCCs , as per ANSR. Data science and engineering and software application development were the other top skills.
Viswanathan KS, former vice-president of Nasscom, said that earlier GCCs used to be a cost play for companies but 2024 has seen companies leverage talent to undertake more innovation partnering with academia and start-ups. He doesn’t anticipate any negative impact on GCC action from the Trump presidency. There are no adverse statements about this from the new administration yet and there is a clear shortage of talent with Baby Boomer generation in the US up for retirement, he adds.
Ramamoorthy expects 2025 to usher in the mainstreaming of smaller PE-VC backed companies establishing their GCCs in India, a segment he calls ‘nano GCCs.’