CHENNAI: The next decade of growth in global capability centres (GCCs) will be defined by “Nano GCCs” – small, agile, compliance-intensive hubs that specialise in niche domains and employing between 50 and 150 highly-skilled professionals and prioritising innovation over scale, says latest report.
According to the report -- GCCs in India: Cultivating Capability, Ensuring Compliance by Teamlease Digital and Teamlease RegTech, five domains are driving the rise of Nano GCCs in India, which include semiconductors and chip design, AL and ML. biotech and pharma R&D, telecom and 5G services, and EV systems & automotive. It also mentions that the adoption of modern technologies such AL/ML (95%), cloud computing (87%), cybersecurity (92%), and blockchain (61%) has seen a projected growth in 2025 compared 2019.
Moreover, 55 percent of global GCCs are located in India and expected to employ over 2.8 million by 2030. GCCs generated $64.6 billion in export revenue in FY24, up 40 percent from $46 billion in FY23. Their contribution to India’s GDP is expected to double from less than 1 percent in FY24 to 2 percent by 2030.
With India aiming for a USD10 trillion GDP by 2030, GCC-led services exports play a vital role in driving growth and providing a stable source of foreign exchange. The GCC growth in India would be 11 percent to 12 percent CAGR in the next five years, expanding from 1,800 GCCs in 2025 to 2400 in 2030.
The report also mentioned that by 2030, more than 70 percent of GCCs globally are expected to integrate AI governance and compliance automation into their global operations. It is also pointed out that nearly 20 to 22 percent of recruitments are freshers for the role of engineers, analysts, and support roles. At mid-level, the hiring is 75 to 77 percent for the role of specialists, product developers, and project managers.
The salary ranges Rs 8-12 lakh per annum to for freshers, and for mid-level it is between Rs 13 and 40 LPA. For leadership roles, the salary bracket goes up to Rs 60 LPA.
The surge in AI, cybersecurity, and cloud adoption has triggered an intense battle for niche expertise and regulatory complexities are increasing, says the report. In the first half of 2024, 1.52 lakh professionals were hired, a 14% rise over the previous half-year. Out of these, 75 percent were replacements, highlighting persistent attrition pressures. It also says 9 in 10 GCC leaders anticipate talent demand will outstrip supply by 2030.
Neeti Sharma, Teamlease Digital CEO, says, “We don't have all talent in Tier 2 cities, because working professionals, lateral hires, are already in Tier 1 cities. So we have to migrate them from Tier 1 to Tier 2 cities. And the state or any of the Tier 2 cities will have a very high volume of fresher talent.”
She added, “The Tier 1 cities have had a runway of 8 to 10 years to come to the status where they are right now. The Tier 2 cities will also get there, so whether it's about data centers, whether it is about compliances, privacy, talent.”
The report also mentions that 58 percent of GCCs are concentrated in Tier 1 cities, 34 percent in Tier 2 cities like Kochi, Coimbatore, Mysuru, Jaipur and 8 percent in Tier 3 cities like Bhubaneswar, Indore, Hubballi. Top 20 GCCs employs 40 percent women, which is 1.5 times more than industry average. The report also speaks about various compliance that GCCs should focus on such as data privacy and cybersecurity, intellectual property rights, FDI/FEMA & cross-border regulations, labour law compliances, women’s security & workplace mandates, maternity benefits & creche rules, fire safety compliances, e-waste management rules and battery waste management rules.