An important question for CXOs and strategy heads alike arises as businesses grow internationally: Are we scaling globally merely to increase capacity, or are we also building capability? Global Capability Centres (GCCs), formerly known as Global In-House Centres (GICs), fill that need by acting as strategic powerhouses that are more than just back-end support engines.
From being cost-cutting outposts, GCC countries have subtly changed into innovation hotspots, talent magnets, and essential forces behind corporate agility. You're not alone if you're considering India as your next GCC destination; the more important question is, are you taking the same approach as everyone else?
Most importantly, EY's recent report, "Future of GCCs in India - a Vision 2030," projects that the size of the domestic GCC market will reach US$110 billion by 2030, driven primarily by software exports, which continue to be a significant part of India's service exports. India is expected to have 2400 GCCs by 2030, and as the country becomes the global centre for technology and services, that number may rise to 2550. There could be 115 new GCC setups annually, up from the current 70.
After seeing these numbers, India, today, isn’t just a labor arbitrage play, it’s also now a capability marketplace. With a tech-savvy workforce, deep domain expertise, and a startup mindset embedded in even enterprise ecosystems, the Indian GCC story is now all about scale, speed, and strategic relevance.
But the twisty questions are:
Do you know what it really takes to set up a future-proof GCC in India?
Are you designing a center that delivers outcomes, or just outputs?
Are you treating your GCC like a vendor or like a value engine?
This article goes beyond the checklist. It walks you through the end-to-end journey of building a GCC in India, while also exploring the mindset shifts and strategic levers that separate a cost center from a competitive advantage.
Businesses must radically rethink their operations if they are to succeed and realise the potential of generative AI. Additionally, in order to strategically apply technology, data, and artificial intelligence to transform their business, every company needs the right talent. It's a rare talent, though.
How can businesses find, develop, and unlock the talent they need on a large scale? With Global Capability Centres (GCCs) which have changed their focus to become real engines for business reinvention. GCCs give businesses access to a worldwide pool of elite talent that is outfitted with the newest tools and education required to stay ahead of market trends, continuously innovate, and generate steady growth. More than just lowering expenses, modern GCCs assist businesses in accelerating their digital transformation, unlocking enterprise value, and spurring expansion.
Every few years, a business trend shifts from “promising” to “proven.”
India as the global home for Capability Centers? That shift has already happened. The real question is: Are you tapping into it like everyone else or thinking bigger?
Because if your only reason to explore India is low cost and high headcount, then you’re still seeing it through an outdated lens. What the most forward-looking companies have realized is that India is no longer a place where you “outsource work.” It’s where you embed intelligence into your global operations.
Let’s break it down as if we’re in a boardroom, asking real questions that actually drive decisions.
Yes, the statistics are impressive, over a million engineers graduate every year, many fluent in AI, cybersecurity, and deep tech. But raw numbers don’t explain the magic. What makes India different is this:
People here don’t just solve problems, they’re trained to navigate ambiguity.
You give them the “what,” they’ll find the “how.” You give them the “why,” they’ll challenge it and sometimes, even improve it. It's not just about coding and reporting anymore; it's about co-creating the future of your business. So, if you're looking to build a culture of agility and continuous learning, you're not hiring talent in India, you're planting a thinking engine.
The instinct is to compare hourly wages. But the true cost advantage in India comes from compounding value:
Cost-efficiency in India isn’t about “cheap.” It’s about how far your money can travel in terms of innovation runway, R&D bandwidth, and market adaptability. Are you saving money or unlocking ROI you didn’t even know was possible?
Forget the cliché of congested cities and patchy networks. India today is home to:
This isn’t about “it’s good enough.” It’s about how they built this so fast? Have you updated your mental map of India lately? It might surprise you how quickly it's moved past just being “developing.”
Unlike most countries where regulations lag innovation, India is racing to stay ahead. There’s a genuine push from policymakers to bring in global business, not just for revenue, but to co-author the country’s growth narrative. From SEZ benefits to startup-linked incentives and even talent mobility reforms, the system isn’t just permitting innovation, it’s fueling it.
When was the last time the country you expanded into worked with you, not around you?
Let’s kill a myth: a GCC is not a satellite office anymore. In India, your GCC can sit next to a global consulting firm, a niche deep-tech startup, a university AI lab, and your own offshore marketing team, all within a 5-kilometer radius. That’s not convenient. That’s compounding capability.
And unlike isolated development hubs, Indian cities are inherently wired for cross-pollination. You’ll hire a backend engineer who’s building a fintech MVP on weekends. You’ll meet a product head who just judged a student hackathon. That energy? You can’t outsource it, you embed it into it.
Are you building a center in India or building within India’s center of gravity?
Companies that treat their GCCs like outsourced cost centers get average results. But the ones who embed leadership, invest in culture, and create autonomy in their Indian centers?
They don’t just scale faster. They innovate better. Why? Because Indian teams, when trusted, don’t wait for direction; they set direction.
So the question isn’t: “Can India deliver?” It’s: “Are you showing up with the intent to co-create or just control?”
India is not just a global talent pool. It’s a thinking economy, a risk-friendly zone, and a co-founder to global ambition. So, if you're building a GCC in India, you’re not making an operational move. You're making a strategic leap. And the companies that realize this early? They don’t just build centers. They build legacies. But before building a GCC in India, one should not forget about the legalities and other aspects included in it. Let’s take a look at that as well…
Setting up a Global Capability Center (GCC) in India today is a transformative move. But as with any major strategic expansion, success doesn’t lie in just getting the infrastructure up and running. It lies in how you plan, whom you partner with, and what mindset you bring.
Below is a deeper, more human, and strategy-first take on the step-by-step journey, framed for leaders who don’t just want a GCC in India but want to build one that matters.
Before you jump into legalities or leasing office space, pause and reflect:
Once you’ve reframed the “why,” begin your feasibility study with on-ground intelligence. Look beyond costs and into city culture, future talent pipelines, and ecosystem depth. Consider the maturity of cities like Hyderabad for pharma-tech, Bangalore for AI & product engineering, Chennai for manufacturing R&D, or Pune for fintech services.
This is where most companies go wrong: they look for numbers, but they forget to map readiness + relevance. The goal is not just to find a city that works for you.
The legal process in India is smoother than ever before but only when you think of it as a partnership with the ecosystem, not a paper trail.
Here’s what this typically involves:
Work with policy-savvy advisors who understand the nuances of how regulations vary state by state, sector by sector. Your GCC’s long-term agility starts with how wisely you set its foundation today.
Yes, you’ll need physical space but what you really need is scalability. That means:
India’s talent pool is vast but to win in this space, you need more than recruiters. You need talented architects.
Once you’re legally compliant, digitally enabled, and talent-rich, now comes the real test: turning on the switch.
A GCC in India is a growth engine in disguise. And how you build it will say more about your company’s future than any press release ever could. But, before starting to build your next GCC in India, you must look at the GCC business models too.
Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are strategic pillars in the extremely dynamic global environment of today. In addition to providing businesses with efficiency, they act as hubs where talent, technology, and transformation come together. This allows them to drive innovation, co-create solutions, and future-proof their operating models.
3 prominent models, Company Owned, Company Operated (COCO), Company Owned, Partner Operated (COPO), and the transitional Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, are redefining how businesses balance control, scalability, risk, and speed when it comes to structuring these centres.
A company's purpose, risk tolerance, and growth goals are all reflected in each model.
A company's desire to create a capability centre from the ground up, fully internally, is reflected in the Company Owned, Company Operated (COCO) model. This method gives you total control over every aspect of the business, including talent, infrastructure, compliance, culture, and intellectual property.
Key Distinguishers
Enterprises with significant resources and internal maturity looking to create innovation hubs or IP-heavy functions in-house, and who value autonomy over agility.
The Company Owned, Partner Operated (COPO) model is where strategic vision meets execution excellence. The parent company retains ownership of assets, IP, and governance, but entrusts daily operations to a trusted local partner with deep market knowledge.
This model acts as a scaling accelerator for reducing friction, increasing agility, and cutting time-to-market dramatically.
Mid-sized companies and enterprise players looking to enter markets faster, scale efficiently, and focus on core strategy while leveraging operational muscle externally.
The Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model acts as a transitional gateway to full ownership, allowing companies to de-risk market entry while still keeping the door open to long-term control.
Under BOT, a trusted local partner sets up the center, operates it for a defined time period, and then transfers the entire setup, people, processes, and systems back to the parent company.
Businesses expanding into new geographies or unfamiliar markets, who want to hit the ground running, without diving in head-first.
In the new global economy, businesses don’t win by building everything themselves. They win by building what matters and partnering for the rest. Whether you’re looking to innovate faster, expand smarter, or scale leaner, the COPO and BOT models are no longer just alternatives to COCO. They’re the default playbooks for companies that want to stay fast, flexible, and future-ready.
For Global Capability Centres (GCCs), India has transformed from a back-office hub to a strategic powerhouse. India presents an attractive option for businesses seeking to create globally aligned innovation engines because it has one of the biggest and youngest talent pools in the world, especially in the STEM and digital fields, along with cost savings and a well-established tech ecosystem. The GCCs in India today serve as the digital catalysts that propel the adoption of AI, research and development, data science, product engineering, and strategic decision-making in international marketplaces.
And that's precisely what Antino is for. With years of experience assisting world leaders in the planning, development, and expansion of high-performing GCCs throughout India, Antino serves as a strategic enabler in addition to an implementation partner. We take care of the heavy lifting so you can concentrate on results, from guiding you through the appropriate setup model (COCO, COPO, and BOT) to creating the ideal tech stack, infrastructure, compliance frameworks, and talent strategy.
Our on-the-ground experience and in-depth knowledge of India's tech and regulatory environment guarantee that you scale wisely, not just quickly, whether you're looking to launch your first GCC or turn an existing one into a Centre of Excellence. Speak with our professionals right now!
