India's position as "GCC Capital of the World": Nasscom & Zinnov study

New Delhi [India], September 15 : The total number of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India crossed the number of over 1,700, and the revenue of GCCs rose to USD 64.6 billion in the financial year 2024, a report jointly released by Nasscom and consulting firm Zinnov said, terming the country the "GCC Capital of the world."
India's GCC revenue for Engineering Research and Development (ER&D) stood at 36.4 billion in FY 2024, as per the report.
GCCs provide employment to over 1.9 million manpower in the financial year 2024, out of which the total installed GCC talent is in Tier-I and Tier-II cities, the report added.
By definition, the GCCs are offshore services units established by Multinational Corporations (MNCs) to perform strategic functions, leveraging knowledge-based talent costs and operational efficiencies.
Interestingly, the GCC units in the country have crossed the number of 2975. The GCC units refer to the individual centres that make up a Global Capability Centre.
Observing the dominant roles of Indian GCCs, the report observed that over 6,500 global roles are housed in the Indian GCCs, which will cross the landmark of 30,000 over the next six years.
Indian GCCs are taking the lead in driving AI-led transformation, with over 1,20,000 professionals working across GCCs and CoEs (Centres of Excellence) in the country.
India continues to be at the forefront of the global GCC expansion strategy, with 400 plus new GCCs and 1,100 plus new GCC units established in just 5 years.
The number of GCCs in FY 2019 was over 1285, which increased by over 32 per cent to reach at 1,700 plus centres. While the GCC units rose from 1,850 plus centres to over 2,975, a staggering 60 per cent increase in the same period.
The report further adds that the global GCC centres are demonstrating increased confidence in their India operations, expanding the average centre size by 24 per cent.
The average size of ER&D GCCs has increased from 400 employees in FY 2019 to 500 employees in FY 2024. GCCs have witnessed 6 times growth in their multi-functional centres for the ER&D, IT, and BPM over the past five years, as per the report.
As per the observation, approximately 23 per cent of the global 2,000 MNCs have established their presence in India as GCCs.
Region-wise, Bengaluru continues to lead the GCC setups, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR), Hyderabad, Pune, and Mumbai, especially in the last 5 years. Bengaluru and NCR account for 47 per cent of the IT talent present in India's GCC ecosystem.
The report adds that the Tier-II and Tier-II cities continue to attract GCCs due to the significant cost advantage and access to a growing talent pool, enhancing their appeal as strategic locations.
Cities such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore and Vadodara remain key hubs in the Tier-III cities, with 10 per cent of GCCs either newly set up or expanded there in the past years.