The Tamil Nadu government, on August 7, announced the creation of four new Global Capability Center (GCC) hubs across Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli, and Vellore, in a push to decentralise its GCC ecosystem beyond Chennai.
The announcement was made at the GCC Next Conclave held in Chennai.
While Chennai remains the state’s flagship GCC destination, accounting for over 85 percent of units and 90 percent of the talent employed, the state’s new “hub-and-spoke” strategy is focused on Tier-2 cities.
The move is backed by the state’s dedicated GCC policy (2024-27), which includes payroll subsidies, infrastructure support, and incentives for setting up innovation labs and R&D centres.
Also, read: TN budget proposes sops for high-paying jobs in capability centres, to promote women workers
Coimbatore is already positioned as the next GCC hotspot in South India, according to a recent report by CBRE, citing its strong education base, cost advantage, and growing interest from global firms. The city has also been shortlisted by several large enterprises for upcoming tech service expansions.
Madurai currently houses over 300 tech and BPM firms, and benefits from infrastructure developments including the Rs 11,000 crore Madurai–Dindigul–Virudhunagar–Theni industrial corridor.
Tiruchirappalli and Vellore, meanwhile, are attracting interest due to their academic institutions and tech-ready workforce. Vellore, for instance, draws from talent pools nurtured by VIT and CMC, making it particularly attractive for healthcare and engineering GCCs.
Also, read: Chennai tops GCC headcount growth in FY24; Hyderabad, Bengaluru follow
The state government said these four locations will be developed with dedicated support to attract both Fortune 500 companies and mid-market enterprises looking to establish digital and R&D hubs. The capital city of Tamil Nadu added almost 95,000 employees in FY24 over FY19, taking the total headcount to over 2,13,000, Moneycontrol reported earlier, citing Zinnov.
India, which now hosts over 174 Fortune Global 500 GCCs, is increasingly witnessing state-level competition to attract new investments in the sector. With this expansion, Tamil Nadu is positioning itself as a leading alternative to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, banking on its cost advantage, infrastructure pipeline, and annual STEM graduate output of about 10-15 lakh.
Also, read: Infra, talent, tax breaks: What Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu want from Centre’s Tier-II GCC policy
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