Global capability centres in India to grow to over 1,900 by 2025: Report

By 2030, India might lead the world in every category, a former top America's diplomat has said asserting that the two largest democracies of the world can do much together.

The number of global capability centres (GCCs) in the country is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6-7 percent to over 1,900 by 2025, according to a report by IT industry body Nasscom and Zinnov.

GCCs are captive centres that handle operations (back-office functions, support functions, and contact centres) and IT support to enhance productivity. Some large companies use GCCs as a centre of excellence as well.

With factors such as a formidable talent base, accelerated technology adoption across industries, and expansion to emerging cities, over 140 GCCs have been set up in India in the last three years to take the total number of GCCs to over 1,430, the report titled "GCC India Landscape: 2021 and Beyond!" said.

About 65 percent of the GCCs set up in India are headquartered in the Americas, specifically the US, it added.

Bengaluru remains the most sought after destination for GCCs across verticals with a presence of over 31 percent of GCCs; followed by NCR (National Capital Region), it said.

GCCs are leveraging start-ups to solve business challenges to deliver revenue growth, cost savings, and/or improve customer experience emerging from being a back-office destination to a global hub for innovation, it added.

Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said GCCs in India not only demonstrated greater resilience in tackling the pandemic infused difficulties but also adopted anti-fragile business continuity plans and operation models, defining the right balance across parameters – People, IT infrastructure and customer and employee experience for clients across the globe.

"India provides the most unique ecosystem (Academia, Start-ups, Service Providers, industry bodies, and Government) in the world, which the GCCs have collectively leveraged and developed over the years," she added.

For India to grow as a global GCC hub, GCCs, industry bodies and the government will need to bridge the skill demand-supply gap and continue to focus on upskilling/reskilling, she said.

While the GCC ecosystem has matured over the years, there is a huge opportunity for growth in the coming years. With the pandemic blurring the lines between locations, there is an increased focus to drive market expansion activities with high-quality cost-efficient products/solutions from India, Nasscom said.