India’s global capability centres set to power $100 billion boom by 2030

India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are fast becoming one of the country's biggest growth engines in the services sector. Currently generating an estimated US$40 billion in annual value, the GCC ecosystem in India is projected to more than double—crossing US$100 billion by 2030, as per estimates shared at the GCC Summit organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

“India today is home to more than 1,700 GCCs serving over 1,000 global enterprises,” said CA Mahaveer Singhvi, joint secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, while addressing the summit. These centres employ nearly 2 million professionals and are becoming a formidable force in India’s export economy—not through physical goods, but by exporting strategic capabilities.

“India is not just exporting goods anymore. We are exporting compliance, financial clarity, and resources,” Singhvi said. He pointed out that GCCs are no longer limited to routine back-office operations but are increasingly playing a pivotal role in areas like risk management, cybersecurity, AI-enabled finance, ESG reporting, and digital tax advisory. “The story of GCCs in India is not just an economy story. It is also a story of governance, control, risk, compliance, assurance, transparency, and straight insights,” he added.

CA Charanjot Singh Nanda, president of ICAI, emphasised the role of Chartered Accountants in fuelling this growth. “There are already 80,000 Chartered Accountants employed within GCCs,” he said. “But the vision is not just to be employees. We want to drive the entire course—learn, innovate, and create entrepreneurial opportunities.”

Nanda underlined India’s dominance in the global accounting ecosystem. “Our Honourable Prime Minister calls India the factory of accountants. We have become the back office of the entire world. People are shutting their shops in places like the Philippines and Canada, and the outsourcing work is coming to India, particularly Gurgaon, which is the largest hub for this activity,” he said.

“The future of it is very bright. We have two visions now: We are partners in national building. And our second vision is to create such infrastructures whereby the entire world comes to us for global capability centres,” added Nanda. 

Meanwhile, the growth trajectory is also expected to continue sharply. CA Prasanna Kumar D, vice president of ICAI, said that India is likely to add another 2,500 GCCs by 2030, taking the total to more than 4,000 centres. Alongside, the employment footprint is expected to scale up significantly. “More than 2.5 million professionals—including Chartered Accountants—will be employed through these capability centres,” he said.

Kumar also highlighted how the GCC ecosystem is rapidly evolving beyond traditional finance functions. “Beyond accounting, GCCs have become analytical powerhouses. Whatever the data, the analysis is made in India and global businesses take decisions based on that,” he explained. He added that GCCs are now deeply embedded in generative AI applications, cloud-native operations, and cybersecurity intelligence, driving the next phase of growth.