Rising Bharat Summit | From Back-Offices To Nerve Centres: How GCCs Are Anchoring India’s Global Ambitions

Last Updated:February 27, 2026, 17:27 IST

65% of GCCs have already experimented with or fully rolled out AI pilots, a discussion at the summit revealed

The narrative of India as a mere “back-office" for global corporations has been firmly dismantled at the News18 Rising Bharat Summit 2026. During a high-impact session titled “GCCs Ahoy! All roads lead to India", industry leaders gathered at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on February 27 to map out the meteoric rise of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). The discussion underscored a fundamental shift: India is no longer just providing labour; it is now the strategic “nerve centre" where high-end R&D, autonomous vehicle technology, and AI-first products are conceived and owned.

Karan Virwani, Chairperson, MD, and CEO of WeWork India, provided a striking metric for this growth, noting that GCCs now drive 40% of the Indian commercial real estate market. However, the physical expansion is merely a shadow of the intellectual growth occurring within those walls. Virwani highlighted that as digital transformation and AI adoption accelerate, the actual research and development—traditionally kept at global headquarters—is now happening in India. From innovation hubs to front-office functions, the sophisticated nature of the work being migrated is transforming the local talent landscape into a global front-runner.

Kiran Cherukuri, EVP and Global GCC Practice Head at HCLTech, revealed that the mandate for these centres has evolved from execution-based tasks to full product ownership. This transformation is being supercharged by artificial intelligence, with 65% of GCCs having already experimented with or fully rolled out AI pilots. This “AI-first" approach is allowing Indian centres to transition from being recipients of instructions to becoming the primary architects of global enterprise platforms.

The rapid scaling of the sector has brought the challenge of talent retention to the forefront. Aravind Maiya, Co-Founder and CEO of EmbarkGCC, emphasised that as competition intensifies, “leadership depth" becomes the critical differentiator. To maintain a standalone business in India, firms must offer more than just a job; they must provide a distinct culture and a clear global career path. Maiya predicted a significant rise in global roles being operated directly from India for multinational firms, further solidifying the country’s influence in international boardrooms.

Rohan Lobo, Partner and GCC Industry Leader at Deloitte South Asia, shared an optimistic outlook for the coming years, stating that approximately 5,000 firms are currently looking to establish GCCs in India. The scope of work is also expanding into futuristic sectors, with companies increasingly setting up autonomous vehicle operations within the country. While metro cities remain the primary hubs, Virwani noted that the next phase of growth will likely see a push into Tier-II markets, as firms seek to tap into a wider talent pool and manage rising operational costs in traditional urban centres.

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