Mint ·
India’s GCCs Are Moving Closer to the Heart of the Enterprise
India's GCC landscape is transitioning to a focus on capability building rather than just work execution. With a notable workforce and significant revenue generation, global companies are recognising the importance of these centers across multiple cities for driving innovation and decision-making.
India’s GCC story is entering a new phase. The real opportunity lies in building capabilities that shape the way global businesses operate, innovate and grow.
India now has 2,117 GCCs employing approximately 2.36 million professionals and generating $98.4 billion in revenue. These numbers reflect not just the scale of the ecosystem, but its growing strategic importance to global enterprises.
The conversation is therefore shifting from “what work can be done in India” to “what capabilities can be built here.” GCCs are increasingly supporting product development, digital engineering, analytics, finance and other functions that contribute directly to enterprise-wide decisions. This expands what global teams can deliver together rather than simply relocating pieces of the work. For SC&H's GCC in India, the transition is from execution toward greater ownership, strengthening the firm's global capabilities.
That ownership, however, cannot be created simply by moving more functions or hiring more talent. It requires the right operating model, leadership and culture, with teams that understand the business context, challenge assumptions and take responsibility for outcomes. This is where the role of enabling partners becomes increasingly important.
At SC&H India, we're building toward the same standard of ownership and accountability that defines SC&H's culture globally. Our teams are encouraged to understand the business context, challenge assumptions and take responsibility for outcomes. For organizations building GCCs, the broader lesson is relevant. Giving people greater responsibility requires giving them the context, autonomy and environment to succeed.
India’s advantage is also moving beyond talent. A mature technology ecosystem, professional services infrastructure and growing GCC expertise are enabling companies to build increasingly sophisticated global capabilities here.
This growth is increasingly visible across India’s GCC cities. Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and emerging hubs such as Ahmedabad, Coimbatore and Kochi are expanding their GCC presence, giving global companies access to diverse talent pools and specialized capabilities. As talent costs, infrastructure and access to skilled professionals become important considerations, the next wave of GCC expansion is likely to spread beyond the traditional metropolitan hubs.
Over the next five years, the strongest GCCs are likely to be measured less by headcount or cost savings and more by the products they develop, capabilities they build, decisions they influence and value they create. As more cities become part of India’s GCC ecosystem, the country could evolve from being a preferred destination for global capability centers to becoming a distributed network of strategic hubs for global enterprises.
The next generation of GCCs will not simply be where global companies get work done. They will increasingly be where global companies look to shape what comes next, as a core part of how the enterprise operates rather than apart from it.