BENGALURU: India’s global capability centres (GCCs) are taking on larger roles in artificial intelligence, product development and enterprise decision-making, with nearly half of all new GCCs since 2021 built around AI from the outset, according to a Nasscom-Zinnov report.
India currently hosts 2,117 GCCs operating across 3,728 units and employing around 2.36 million professionals as of FY26, the report said. The number of GCCs has grown 32% since FY21, while the sector’s total market revenue has reached $98.4 billion. Around 506 Forbes Global 2000 companies now run operations from India.
The report said more than 1,200 GCCs in India have embedded artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, supported by over 250 dedicated centres of excellence and a workforce of 250,000 AI professionals. Nearly half of the GCCs established since FY21 were launched with AI as a core focus.
It added that GCCs are moving beyond pilot AI projects and are deploying AI across products, internal operations and customer offerings. The report said discussions within companies had shifted from the potential uses of AI to questions around governance and economic viability at scale.
The study found that nearly 50% of GCCs in India now operate at a high maturity stage, with 96% of GCCs established after FY21 launching with a product or portfolio mandate. It also said 64% of GCC site leaders now hold dual mandates combining global functional ownership with site leadership responsibilities, including cybersecurity and AI governance.
“India’s GCC ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental reset. The shift from scale to value is now well underway, with AI acting as the catalyst,” Rajesh Nambiar, President, Nasscom, said in a statement.
“GCCs are increasingly taking ownership of global products, platforms, and business outcomes, positioning India as a strategic nerve centre for enterprises worldwide. The next phase of growth will be defined by how effectively these centres can drive enterprise-wide transformation and deliver measurable impact,” he said.
The report said hiring across GCCs would remain steady but at a moderate pace, as companies increasingly focus on redeployment and AI-led productivity gains instead of linear headcount growth. Demand for AI-related skills increased by 1.5 percentage points over the past six months, it added.
According to the report, more than 90% of leading GCCs are partnering with universities for talent pipelines and joint research, while over half are co-innovating with startups through technology pilots and open sandboxes.
“The India advantage today is unmistakable — one of the largest and fastest-growing pools of AI and digital talent in the world,” Pari Natarajan, Chief Executive Officer of Zinnov, said.
“That advantage is now translating into something far more structural. GCCs are increasingly moving beyond execution to take ownership of products, platforms, and AI-led transformation, and three quarters will operate at high maturity by 2030,” he said.
The report said nearly 75% of India’s GCCs could evolve into portfolio or transformation hubs over the next five years, driven by higher-value work, AI-enabled operations and partnerships across academia, startups and service providers.
