Overview
Nasscom, in collaboration with Zinnov, released the GCC Value Orbit: From Delivery Engine to Enterprise Nerve Centre report, highlighting a rapid expansion of India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem. As of FY26, India hosts 2,117 GCCs operating across 3,728 units and employing approximately 2.36 million professionals. The total market revenue of the ecosystem is estimated at $98.4 billion.
Growth Metrics
The number of GCCs in India has increased by 32% since FY2021, and 506 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 list now run operations from the country. Nearly half of all GCCs established since FY2021 were built with artificial intelligence (AI) as a core focus from inception.
AI Integration and Talent
More than 1,200 GCCs have embedded AI and machine learning capabilities, supported by over 250 dedicated Centres of Excellence and a talent pool of roughly 250,000 AI professionals. AI is moving from isolated projects to enterprise‑wide deployment across products, internal operations, and customer offerings. The report notes a shift in conversations from what AI can do to how to govern it and make it economically viable at scale.
Maturity and Leadership
Approximately 50% of GCCs now operate at a high‑maturity stage, with the time to reach this level collapsing; 96% of GCCs established after FY2021 launched with a product or portfolio mandate. Leadership models are evolving, as 64% of site leaders hold dual mandates that combine global functional ownership with site‑level responsibilities such as cybersecurity and AI governance.
Workforce Strategy
Hiring remains resilient, but growth is moderate. Organisations are prioritising reskilling, redeployment, and AI‑led productivity over linear headcount expansion. AI‑centric skill demand rose by 1.5 percentage points over the past six months.
Partnership Ecosystem
Leading GCCs are forging active partnerships with service providers, startups, academia, and government. Over 90% of leading GCCs engage with universities for talent pipelines and joint research, while more than 50% co‑innovate with startups through open sandboxes and technology pilots, accelerating R&D ownership and access to niche digital talent.
Future Outlook
The report projects that 75% of India’s GCCs have the potential to evolve into Portfolio or Transformation Hubs within the next five years, and that three‑quarters will operate at high maturity by 2030. Realising this will require shifting portfolios toward high‑complexity work that AI cannot easily replicate, building a workforce capable of collaborating with AI, measuring performance through business outcomes, and moving from managing partners to co‑creating with them.
Executive Comments
Rajesh Nambiar, President of Nasscom, stated that the GCC ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental reset, with AI acting as the catalyst that moves centres from scale to value creation. Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov, highlighted India’s large and fast‑growing AI talent pool and emphasized that GCCs that successfully integrate AI‑led transformation will become the reason for India’s rise in the global technology landscape.