Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the contribution of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) to the Indian economy is expected to grow to between $100 billion and $150 billion by 2030.

“GCCs contribute to direct gross value addition worth $68 billion in India, or about 1.6% of GDP. By 2030, the gross value addition by GCCs could potentially range between $100 billion and $150 billion,” Sitharaman said at the CII GCC Summit today.

“One thousand GCCs have been added between 2015 and 2024. On average, one new GCC was set up every week in 2024. A similar number is expected this year as well. All GCCs together employ 2.16 million professionals in India. This figure is expected to rise to 2.80 million by 2030. I guess this is a very conservative estimate,” she said.

The Finance Minister also pointed out that India’s GCCs are at a critical inflection point, evolving from back-office hubs to strategic centres of innovation and leadership. “Since 1985, it took over 30 years to reach 1,000 GCCs, but in just the last decade, an additional 800 have been established,” she said, adding that the nation cannot afford to lose this GCC advantage.

The minister called upon the industry to move fast together. “The nature of GCCs is changing—they are becoming centres of research, innovation, and leadership,” she said.

This rise of the GCCs, she emphasised, has been underpinned by India’s emergence as a global talent engine. “The country has become a leading source of AI talent, currently housing 32% of the global GCC talent pool, 28% of the world’s STEM workforce, and 23% of global software engineering talent,” she added.

The Finance Minister also emphasised how the government has been working on reducing approval timelines, enhancing tax certainty—including on Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)—and integrating administrative support across ministries. All these, she reiterated, extend to GCCs as well. Notably, she encouraged greater investment in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and showcased models like GIFT City as examples of regulatory facilitation. “India must not lose this opportunity,” she concluded, pledging full government support in powering the GCC growth story.