GCCs will be a major contributor to India’s job market, GDP, and tech leadership by 2035, says Nancy Bhatt, MD, Protiviti

The country’s largest IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is the talk of the town as the company announced on Sunday that it would release about 2%, or approximately 12,200 employees, of its global workforce this financial year. Following the update, shares of TCS declined more than 1% to an intraday low of Rs 3,081 on BSE.

The company attributed this to the need to become a more agile organisation in an era of artificial intelligence-led business transformation. So, at a time when the IT sector is struggling with challenges like global slowdown and layoffs, India, on the other hand, has quietly but powerfully positioned itself as a global hub for global capability centres (GCCs). At present, India has nearly 1,800 centres operating across cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune.

These centres are not just back offices anymore; they’re driving innovation, R&D, analytics, and digital transformation. Together, they contribute around $68 billion in value, which is nearly 1.6% of India’s GDP. So, which sectors will lead GCC hiring growth over the next 5-10 years?

In an interaction with Business Today, Nancy Bhatt, Managing Director, Protiviti Member Firm for India said most of the hiring growth in India’s GCCs would come from key industries like banking and financial services (BFSI), technology and software (including AI and platform development), manufacturing, automotive and energy, healthcare, retail, and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platforms over the next 5 to 10 years.

She further said that the BFSI sector will look for talent in areas such as AI-based risk analysis, regulatory technologies, and cybersecurity. The tech sector will keep hiring strongly for roles in digital transformation, cloud computing, and data science. Manufacturing and automotive companies will grow their GCC presence with a focus on smart factories, electric vehicles, industrial IoT, and automation.

“Healthcare and life sciences will need experts in digital health, AI-powered diagnostics, and protecting patient data. In retail and consumer goods, the focus will be on improving e-commerce, supply chain management, and customer experience. SaaS and digital platform GCCs are also expected to grow, especially in roles related to cloud infrastructure,” said Bhatt.

Bhatt further added that this growth will come with a shift toward hiring for specialised, high-value tech skills rather than just large numbers. GCCs will also expand beyond big cities into tier-2 locations, and there will be a stronger push for diversity and inclusion. All of this will place India at the centre of global digital innovation.

In India, GCCs are spreading into tier-2 cities like Indore, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar, and Jaipur in addition to major cities like Bengaluru and Gurugram. India now accounts for nearly a third of the global GCC workforce, with women making up 35% and the sector is projected to more than double to $150–200 billion in the next five years.

At the recent CII–GCC Summit, the finance minister underscored the need to build stronger systems and encourage expansion beyond metros into tier-2 cities, citing GIFT City as a successful model.

Industry watchers believe that GCCs are no longer a side story, they are central to India’s economic narrative. They’re creating high-skill jobs, fostering partnerships with startups.

India’s GCCs are no longer just back-end offices for global companies — they’re quickly becoming centres of intelligence and innovation. GCCs' contribution to India’s GDP is expected to grow to 2.5%-3% over the next ten years. “This isn’t just about bigger numbers — it shows a major shift in how the world sees India’s role in global business,” says Bhatt.

In the past, companies came to India mainly to save costs. That’s changed. Now, they come for skilled talent, innovation, and strategic support. She added that Indian GCCs are moving up the value chain, focusing less on routine tasks and more on important areas like research and development, digital transformation, AI-driven product design, and data analytics. This shift is powered by India’s growing talent pool.

“There are already nearly 2 million professionals working in GCCs in India, and that number could more than double to over 4 million by 2035. But the focus isn’t just on hiring more people — it’s on hiring smarter, for high-value roles in areas like emerging tech, cybersecurity, design, compliance, and innovation. India is becoming a global source of ideas and solutions, not just execution,” said Bhatt.

Geopolitical changes are speeding this up. As global companies look for more stable and innovation-ready locations, India stands out. Market watchers believe that the impact of this shift goes beyond office walls. “The growth of GCCs is driving real estate development in smaller cities, encouraging education and skill-building, and building stronger ties with India’s startup scene. GCCs are no longer working in isolation — they’re helping power India’s broader innovation economy. Looking ahead, it’s clear that by 2035, GCCs will be major contributors to India’s GDP, job market, and tech leadership,” says Bhatt.