India’s GCCs are evolving into growth engines, poised for 12% value surge by 2029: PwC

India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are expected to generate value at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11–12% between FY25 and FY29, an uptick from the 10–11% CAGR achieved in FY20–24, according to PwC India’s latest survey report.

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) serve as the offshore hubs of multinational corporations, managing key functions such as technology, operations, and research and development. India is home to the largest concentration of these centres globally, with over 2,975 units established across the country, according to a NASSCOM and Zinnov report. As noted in the Economic Survey 2024–25, these centres employed close to 1.9 million professionals in India by the end of FY24.

The report highlights that Indian GCCs, once considered support functions, are increasingly becoming strategic partners and front-end value creators. Despite managing only, a portion of their global headquarters’ (HQs) global processes, these centres have contributed consistently to enterprise value, both through cost optimisation and as hubs of innovation and talent

Particularly through their collaborations with startups, India’s GCCs have helped effectively rationalise costs for their global HQs. These centres are also actively supporting the surge in demand for artificial intelligence solutions and providing critical engineering expertise to tackle escalating cybersecurity threats.

According to the report, product-based companies have been ahead of service-based ones in evolving their GCCs into multifunctional hubs that operate across a wider range of business functions.

Alignment is still pending

According to the report, additional value can however, only be unlocked when there is full strategic and operational alignment between GCCs and HQs.

“In the context of India’s growth story, it is important for GCCs and their HQs to co-create a shared definition of value, invest in joint decisions, and build a culture of collaboration,” said Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India, in a statement.

With stronger alignment between GCCs and their HQs, this growth could potentially rise further to 14–15%, the report titled ‘Catalysing value creation in Indian global capability centres’ said.

“GCCs must see complete alignment with their HQs - not as a one-time fix, but as a sustained leadership imperative,” Krishnan added.

Additionally, less than 25% of global leaders surveyed indicated any plans to relocate their GCCs from India, underlining long-term confidence in the country’s strategic relevance.

While India remains a preferred destination for global companies to establish or expand their capability centres, the report also underscores the need for infrastructure investments.

“Indian GCCs are uniquely positioned to become engines of dynamic value creation. To accelerate this growth and make GCCs more competitive and investible, the national and state governments should make substantial investments in developing infrastructure that can be used for GCC set up, such as building GCC parks and developing Tier 2 locations to become mature GCC hubs,” said Raghav Narsalay, Partner and Leader – Research and Insights Hub, PwC India, in a statement.