The fuel secretly powering India’s economy — GCCs
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The explosive growth of global capability centres (GCCs) providing technical, operational, research and innovation services to some of the world’s largest corporations is emerging as a “force multiplier” for the Indian economy, industry experts and analysts said. Currently, over 1,600 GCCs — employing an estimated 1.5 million people across India’s major cities — are generating cumulative revenue of about $46 billion.
This is more than double the estimated $20 billion generated by about 1,000 such centres in 2016, according to a report by ICICI Securities. It forecasts GCC revenue to reach $100 billion by 2030. Some of the largest GCCs in India are JPMorgan Chase & Co, SAP Labs, Goldman Sachs, Walmart and Tesco. In recent years, GCCs have diversified their offerings, adding services like legal and marketing in addition to mainstay capabilities like finance, HR, analytics, IT, procurement and data governance. Their exponential growth is boosting peripheral sectors such as real estate, retail, staffing and infrastructure, adding weight to India’s economy, experts said.
“The hefty spending power of (GCC) employees fuels local businesses like kirana stores, restaurants, malls, and hospitals, creating roughly one million jobs in domestic services alone and strengthening India’s economic fabric,” according to Palash Gupta, R&D & engineering leader at Verint India. Gupta who is also a member of industry lobby Nasscom’s Product Council said that GCCs generate an estimated $35-40 billion in additional economic output across real estate, IT, hospitality and professional services.
Hiring firms note that there is a surge in demand for skilled professionals, especially in sectors such as healthcare and automotive, of 20-25%. Moreover, the focus on research and development (R&D) centres has intensified, indicating a shift towards innovation-driven growth. Data science, data engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as pivotal skill sets, experiencing a 30% increase in demand,” said Anshuman Das, CEO and co-founder of Careernet, a talent solutions provider.
