As the IT sector in India sees a moderation in hiring, Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are more than filling the gap. An estimated 2 million people work at GCCs in India with nearly a third of this workforce being women. Today, nearly 67% of the Fortune Global 30 companies, and over one-third of the entire Fortune Global 500 companies are running Global Capability Centers in India according to the report ‘Fortune Global 500 GCCs in India Landscape Report 2025’ by ANSR. Indian GCCs are now almost functioning like a second headquarters with research and development and innovation hubs based in India. At the Fortune India Boardroom, heads of GCC companies explain why India talent matters and why it stands out compared to the rest of the world.      

 The secret sauce of Indian talent  

The COVID-19 pandemic, which tested the ability of global organisations to get work done remotely not just created a level playing field in terms of geographic location but also proved that work collaboration for most of the organisation's functions could be handled from anywhere.

While undoubtedly, in the past 5 years, the pace of global companies setting up GCCs in India has accelerated. Lalitha Indrakanti, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Technology and Business Services India (JLR TBSI) says that given the presence of some of them for over two decades in India has aided in the availability of experienced talent that helps in a faster go-to-market. What is also sweetening the deal is, unlike headquarters where roles and divisions are more siloed, GCCs are functioning rather end-to-end. “At GCCs we have such a large crowd located in one building who are working across functions sitting together, the ability to connect the tech to the users or to the people who are going to use it for the customers are far stronger here in India,” Indrakanti adds.  

As technology evolves and businesses look to transform themselves with changing times, the ability of the workforce to handle change becomes imperative. Vijai Kishan, India Site Lead and Head of India Enterprise Technology of Fidelity Investments, which has a workforce of nearly 7,000 in India says, “If you look at India, one of the interesting things I have been watching is that any learning platform you put out, the Indian associates tend to pick up the skills very fast. They take to new technology, new skills, etc., and the learnability quotient is very high.”  A talent pool that is willing to pick up the next big thing and be effective is also making companies look at these centres to build the future of the firm from India.  

As artificial intelligence takes the forefront in the new era of tech transformation, even for companies that have GCCs across multiple locations, India has become the hotbed for AI-related tech. Debasis Panda, Senior Vice President and Head of TransUnion’s GCCs across India, Costa Rica, and South Africa, says at his company over the past six years, the India centre has undergone a huge change in its role from starting out with transaction and modules to building product roadmaps and platforms. “We lead the AI here. On AI the cost to capability (talent), the ability to do AI models, scale them into production and deploy them across the globe is done at a fraction of a cost from India,” Panda adds.