Why India's GCC Model Is Changing

Category: Strategy Date: August 2025 Reading Time: 6 min Sources: NASSCOM-Zinnov GCC Landscape Report 2026, EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2025

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The Shift from Cost Centre to Strategic Asset

For decades, India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) were primarily valued for cost arbitrage. Establish a delivery centre in India, migrate repetitive processes, reduce operational costs.

That model has fundamentally changed.

What the data shows:

- 2,117 GCC organisations now operate 3,728 individual centres in India (NASSCOM-Zinnov 2026)

• Revenue has grown from $64.6B (FY2024) to $98.4B (FY2026E)

• 83% of GCCs are now investing in GenAI (EY GCC Pulse 2025)

• 45% drive global strategy leadership from India

  Four Drivers of Transformation

  1. Talent Depth and Specialisation

  India's talent pool has evolved from offering basic coding and processing to providing specialised capabilities in AI, data science, product development, and research engineering. The median experience of AI engineers in India is approximately three years—reflecting both scale of hiring and maturity of the pipeline.

  2. Technology Infrastructure

  Cloud adoption, high-speed connectivity, and access to global technology stacks have eliminated the infrastructure gap. Indian GCCs can now operate with the same tools and access as any developed-market centre.

  3. Ownership and Accountability

  The governance model has shifted. 20% of GCCs now operate with full ownership of global decisions from India. Another 52% hold shared accountability. The GCC is no longer a reporting unit—it's a strategic partner.

  4. AI Capability Development

  AI adoption is accelerating. 83% of GCCs investing in GenAI; 58% in Agentic AI. This is not about automation of existing processes—it's about building new capabilities that shape global product and service strategy.

  What This Means for Decision-Makers

  If your organisation is evaluating India purely for cost reasons, you are looking at the wrong opportunity. The strategic case for India GCCs is now about:

  1. Access to the world's largest pool of technology talent

2. Capability to drive global product and service innovation 3. Platform for AI transformation at enterprise scale 4. Strategic presence in the world's fastest-growing major economy

The question is not whether India can deliver cost savings. It can. The question is whether your organisation is prepared to treat its India GCC as a strategic asset—and structure it accordingly.

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Key Takeaways

- The GCC model has evolved from cost arbitrage to strategic capability

• 83% of GCCs investing in GenAI; 45% drive global strategy from India

• AI talent is the most competitive category

• Organisational structures must evolve to treat GCCs as strategic partners

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  Sources

  - [NASSCOM-Zinnov GCC Landscape Report 2026](https://zinnov.com/centers-of-excellence/zinnov-nasscom-india-gcc-landscape-2026-report/)

• [EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2025](https://www.ey.com/en_in/newsroom/2025/11/58-percent-gccs-in-india-investing-in-agentic-ai)