India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem is projected to expand significantly, with over 1,900 GCCs and a market size of $60 billion by 2025, on the back of talent availability, a mature start-up landscape, and evolved peer ecosystem, according to report by Nasscom.

The report titled “GCC 4.0 – India Redefining the Globalization Blueprint.” showed that as of FY23, India is home to 1,580 unique GCCs, with several global MNCs opting to establish their first global center outside of their headquarters in India. The current GCC market size is $46 billion and the sector employs a talent base of 1.66 million. By 2025, the sector is pegged to employ over 2 million people. 

GCCs in India are expected to build niche competencies, cultivate global leadership, monetise services, and venture into untapped frontiers. Factors such as peer collaboration, customer-centric business development, setting up future hubs for functions like customer success, and driving the transition to an ‘as-a-service’ world are some of the key drivers enabling India’s transition into the GCC 4.0 Wave, said the report. 

Core tech hubs

Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom, said, “GCCs in India have helped India’s tech industry remain resilient amid the current upheaval in the global market. With a steadfast commitment to building domain expertise and embracing sustainable practices, India is poised to evolve into the ultimate destination for GCCs, catering to their diverse needs in terms of talent, location, leadership, and operational excellence.”

The growth trajectory of Indian GCCs stays unabated, primarily being fueled by Engineering R&D (ER&D), which accounts for approximately 56 per cent of the overall GCC revenue share. This is supported by long-term strategic deals, widespread adoption of digitalisation, and increased utilisation of Cloud technology, report noted. 

While Tier-I cities continue to remain the preferred choice, housing around 90 per cent of the installed GCC talent, there is a noticeable trend of Tier-II and Tier-III cities rapidly catching up. 

The report further noted that GCCs in India are acting as core technology hubs for their HQ, specialising in Cloud, AI/ML/NLP, Cybersecurity, Low Code/No Code, Advanced Analytics, Blockchain, IoT, etc. India GCCs are also playing a pivotal role in exploring emerging technologies such as Web 3.0, Digital Twins, Metaverse, etc., for their parent organisations.

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