India’s GCC office market is undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from cost-cutting centers to global growth engines, as per a report by The Hindu. Around 58% of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India are heavily investing in Agentic AI, moving towards enterprise-scale deployment beyond experimentation. These GCCs now serve as Centers of Excellence for finance, legal, and human resources, leading R&D in quantum computing, semiconductor design, and AI.
Indian GCCs have evolved through four waves, from captive centers focusing on labor arbitrage to the current era of end-to-end product ownership. They play a crucial role in centralizing critical functions for parent companies in a high-skill, high-efficiency environment. The report emphasizes the need for GCC expansion through measures like single-window clearance, transfer pricing norms, tax safe harbors for R&D-intensive operations, and industry-academia collaboration.
The report also highlights the National GCC Policy Framework proposed in the Budget 2026-27, aiming to position India as the world’s innovation capital. With over 1,800 GCCs in India employing nearly two million professionals, companies can drive faster innovation cycles through a follow-the-sun model. Global Capability Centers (GCCs) are projected to drive up to 50% of India’s office space demand across the top seven markets, with US firms leading leasing activity.
