Global cCapability centres (GCCs) have emerged as a key lever in India’s transition towards artificial intelligence-led services, the Economic Survey 2025-26 has said.
India’s $283-billion services sector, particularly information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services, has remained a mainstay of economic performance since the early 2000s, the survey, tabled in Parliament on January 29 , said. Services have increasingly carried the burden of export growth, even as global conditions have become more volatile.
“Over the five years since 2020, the compounded annual growth rate of total exports has been 9.4%, while that of merchandise exports has been only 6.4%,” the survey said, adding, “services have done much of the heavy lifting, creditable and macro-stabilising”.
From delivery to enterprise AI capabilities
The survey links the next phase of services growth to the deeper embedding of artificial intelligence (AI) across enterprises, a shift that aligns closely with the expanding role of GCCs.
In its chapter on the evolution of the AI ecosystem, it said AI adoption in India will be driven largely by enterprise integration rather than isolated use cases.
Large firms are increasingly deploying AI to improve productivity, decision-making and operational efficiency across functions, requiring sustained investments in data, computing infrastructure, and skilled human capital.
GCCs, over 1,800 in number, house large pools of engineering and analytics talent and are positioned to support this enterprise-wide adoption of AI.
Also, read: Economic Survey moots 'AI Economic Council' to align tech adoption with jobs, skills
Limits of services-led growth flagged
The Economic Survey also strikes a note of caution on over-reliance on services-led growth.
While acknowledging the economic value of IT and ITes, it said services exports do not necessarily compel broader institutional or industrial upgrades.
“International experience indicates that while service exports are economically valuable, they do not systematically compel broad upgrades in state capacity,” it said. Services firms “can bypass weak institutions, relocate easily, and generate limited economy-wide pressure on governments to reform”.
This observation places greater emphasis on the quality and depth of capabilities being built within GCCs, particularly as they take on more advanced AI and digital engineering mandates.
India’s IT minister had, last year, suggested that the IT majors venture into product manufacturing.
Talent, skills central to GCC-led AI push
The survey also highlighted human capital as a binding factor in India’s AI ambitions.
It stresses the importance of building advanced skills in areas such as machine learning, data engineering, and platform development to sustain the transition towards higher-value services.
According to the survey, the success of India’s AI ecosystem will depend on “human capital for AI”, alongside governance frameworks and data infrastructure.
GCCs, which already employ about 20 lakh technology professionals, are expected to play a role in anchoring this skill development at scale.
A stabilising role amid global uncertainty
Set against a backdrop of rising geopolitical risks and volatile capital flows, the Economic Survey positions services and digital capabilities as a source of resilience for the Indian economy.
While reiterating that manufacturing-led exports remain critical for long-term currency and external stability, it acknowledges that services continue to provide near-term support.
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