When India first embraced the Global Capability Center (GCC) model, these hubs were viewed primarily as cost-saving outposts - providing back-office support and operational efficiency. Less than two decades later, that perception has undergone a dramatic transformation. By 2025, India is home to more than half of the world’s GCCs, and their role has expanded well beyond cost arbitrage. Today, they are positioned as engines of innovation, research, and global leadership.

This shift is not just numerical - though the numbers themselves are striking. Over 16 new GCCs were established in the first quarter of 2025 alone, and projections suggest India’s tally will rise from 1,900 to nearly 2,400 by 2030. What is more significant is the repositioning of GCCs as innovation bridges - connecting global corporations with Indian startups, linking industry with academia, and building digital ecosystems that ripple far beyond their immediate mandates.

As I often say, the true story of GCCs in India is not about cutting costs - it is about creating value.

From Cost to Catalyst

The early phase of GCCs was transactional. They carried out support services, customer care, and back-office processing. Over time, however, companies realized that India’s 2.5 million-strong talent base, combined with a maturing digital infrastructure, could deliver far more. R&D, product design, market analytics, and even global strategy functions migrated to India.

“India’s GCCs are no longer extensions - they are engines,” I noted recently in a conversation with industry colleagues. That evolution reflects not only corporate strategy but also India’s broader technology maturity, where Tier-2 cities are now as much in play as the traditional hubs of Hyderabad or Bengaluru.

Startups and GCCs: A Symbiotic Fit

Startups thrive on agility, experimentation, and speed. GCCs, meanwhile, bring scale, resources, and access to global markets. Together, they form a natural alliance. Increasingly, we see GCCs serving as bridges to India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, running accelerators, partnering with incubators, and even establishing venture arms.

The Novo Nordisk collaboration with ten Indian AI startups offers a vivid illustration. By co-developing solutions, they reduced document processing time from 40 hours to just 40 minutes. This is not a small productivity gain- it is a transformative leap that illustrates the power of startup-GCC collaboration.

Startups benefit too. A paid partnership with a Fortune 500 GCC carries credibility that no amount of pitch decks can replicate. Feedback from GCCs helps them refine products, sharpen security protocols, and navigate regulatory hurdles. It is little wonder that India today counts more than 15 incubators and over 40 accelerators directly linked to GCCs.

As one founder remarked to me, “When a GCC validates your solution, it is like being fast-tracked into the global market.” That kind of validation is, quite simply, invaluable.

Academia and GCCs: Knowledge in Motion

If startups provide agility, academia provides continuity. GCCs in India are increasingly turning to universities, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, for both talent and intellectual partnership. These engagements are not superficial - they involve live projects, real-world datasets, and even government-funded collaborations that support both research and employment. The result is a dual benefit. Academic institutions gain exposure to global problems, cutting-edge tools, and research opportunities. GCCs gain access to a steady pipeline of trained, motivated professionals. As I see it, this is one of the most sustainable ways to ensure India continues to produce the talent that fuels digital transformation.

In fact, many GCCs today are as present on university campuses as they are in corporate towers - conducting hackathons, sponsoring conferences, and embedding internships into degree programmes. This is knowledge in motion, building a workforce that is industry-ready from day one.

Digital Ecosystems: Beyond the walls of GCCs

A striking feature of the new GCC landscape is its digital ambition. Between 75–80 per cent of new GCCs are focused on advanced digital technologies such as generative AI, blockchain, big data, and cloud-native architectures. From predictive analytics to robotic process automation, these centers are not just adopting digital - they are shaping it.

Consider the impacts at three levels:

•Talent – GCCs chart clear career pathways for tech professionals, ensuring upskilling in fields like AI, cybersecurity, and automation.

•Technology – the platforms and frameworks developed within GCCs often become industry benchmarks.

•Market – by exporting Indian innovations to global markets, GCCs simultaneously bring back international best practices into the local ecosystem.

In effect, GCCs are turning into digital ecosystems - self-contained yet deeply connected, where ideas, technologies, and people circulate to create compounded value.

Telangana’s Moment

Why does this matter for Telangana and its $1 trillion aspiration? Because GCCs are not just economic multipliers - they are innovation anchors. In Telangana, for instance, GCCs have become critical nodes in sectors ranging from life sciences and healthcare to advanced manufacturing and fintech. Their role in linking startups, academia, and digital frameworks is what makes the state’s growth model distinctive.

The GCC-led ecosystem ensures that innovation is not confined to labs or classrooms but diffused across industries, fueling exports, improving productivity, and enabling global partnerships. It is precisely this diffusion that will allow Telangana—and India more broadly—to leapfrog into a leadership position in the global economy.

The Road Ahead

The transformation of India’s GCCs carries profound implications. We are witnessing the shift of innovation powerhouses closer to where the talent resides. The challenge now is to institutionalize this momentum:

•To ensure startup partnerships are not episodic but structural.

To embed academia-industry links as part of the education system, not as extracurriculars.

•To build digital ecosystems that are resilient, ethical, and globally competitive.

India’s GCC story is no longer about being the ‘back office of the world’. It is about becoming the innovation front office of the future.

As we look ahead, expect GCCs in India to lead on strategic priorities - AI governance, cloud platforms, cybersecurity, and advanced analytics. But more importantly, expect them to redefine what collaboration looks like: startups, academia, and global corporations co-creating solutions for a world that is as complex as it is interconnected.

That is the real promise of India’s GCCs. And it is a promise that Telangana is uniquely poised to deliver as it marches toward the $1 trillion milestone.

(The author is Co-Founder & President, Healthark. He advises leading global organizations on strategy, innovation, and the evolving role of GCCs in India’s growth story)

(This article is jointly brought to you by World Trade Center Shamshabad & Future City and Healthark Insights, as part of a knowledge series supporting Telangana’s aspiration to become a $1 trillion economy)