A recent report by Nasscom and Zinnov, titled “India’s GCC Leap: Capturing Global Mid-Market Momentum”, has put the spotlight on a powerful but often overlooked driver of India's digital transformation—mid-sized Global Capability Centres (GCCs). According to the study, India now hosts over 480 such GCCs, employing more than 2.1 lakh professionals, and this number is rapidly growing.

These mid-sized units are set up by global enterprises with annual revenues between $100 million and $1 billion, and they form 27% of the total GCC count and 22% of operational GCC units in India. Despite being relatively smaller in scale, these centers are playing a disproportionately larger role in technology transformation, product ownership, and innovation.

India’s Rise as a Mid-Sized GCC Hub

Over the past two years, 45 new mid-sized GCCs have been established in India, representing 35% of all new GCCs set up during this time. Notably, these GCCs are operating at 40% the size of large GCCs, but are 1.3x more likely to function as transformation hubs. This agility makes them ideal partners for innovation and speed-led growth.

According to Pari Natarajan, CEO of Zinnov, “These scaled-down versions of large enterprises are rewriting the tech playbook. They’re not just small; they’re fast and focused.” Natarajan also highlighted the potential of GCC-as-a-service models, growing innovation clusters in Tier-2 cities, and India’s unmatched talent pool as catalysts in this trend.

Talent Powerhouse: Product and DeepTech Dominance

India is also becoming a critical source of specialized tech talent. The report notes that:

• 47% of global product management talent for mid-sized GCCs is based in India.

• Over 25% of their DeepTech workforce is located in the country.

• 60% of end-to-end product and platform ownership in enterprise portfolios comes from India—especially in engineering R&D.

This makes India an indispensable location for companies aiming to develop, manage, and scale innovative technology platforms.

Key Tech Cities Driving the GCC Revolution

The study found that Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR, and Chennai account for 74% of all new GCC units established recently. Among them:

• Hyderabad alone contributed 25% to the mid-market GCC talent pool growth over the last five years.

• Bengaluru remains the preferred location for engineering and product development.

• NCR is gaining momentum with access to consulting talent and industry linkages.

• Chennai's manufacturing-tech talent is pushing its relevance for certain sectors.

This city-specific specialisation is enabling India to offer location-optimized services to global enterprises.

Challenges in Scaling Mid-Sized GCCs

Despite their success, mid-sized GCCs in India face key operational and strategic challenges:

• Limited brand visibility on college campuses reduces the ability to attract top-tier fresh talent.

• Lack of standardised operational processes often leads to slower execution in comparison to larger GCCs.

• Weak linkages with startups and academic institutions hinder faster innovation and idea cross-pollination.

The report emphasises that resolving these constraints could significantly accelerate the growth and impact of mid-sized GCCs.

Strategic Opportunities Ahead

Rajesh Nambiar, President of Nasscom, offered a vision for the future: “The next wave of GCCs will not come from size, but from speed, specialisation, and strategic influence.” He urged stakeholders to focus on market entry models, policy support, and innovation ecosystems.

If India can capitalise on these opportunities, 30,000–40,000 mid-sized firms from the US, UK, Germany, and Japan could potentially establish their GCCs in India. This could further strengthen India’s position as the global tech engine, especially in DeepTech, AI, and digital-native operations.

GCC-as-a-Service and Tier-2 Cities: The Next Growth Curve

A rising trend is the GCC-as-a-service model, which allows companies to plug into pre-existing tech ecosystems with minimal setup costs. Alongside, Tier-2 cities like Pune, Coimbatore, and Ahmedabad are evolving as next-generation innovation clusters, offering lower costs and untapped talent.

This trend is pivotal for digital-native enterprises that want a faster go-to-market strategy while leveraging India’s ecosystem for AI, product development, cybersecurity, and platform engineering.

India's Tech Brand Gets Stronger Globally

The report concludes by affirming that India is not just a cost centre, but a value and innovation-driven global partner. With the right mix of talent, speed, and policy innovation, India is poised to become the birthplace of the next wave of digital-native global companies.

Enterprises are advised to prioritise speed, specialisation, and transformation over traditional metrics of scale. In this era of digital disruption, mid-sized GCCs are no longer the middle children—they are now at the centre of India’s digital future.

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