Geopolitical changes may help make GCCs resilient, say experts

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Global disruptions caused by geopolitical developments could provide an opportunity for Global Capability Centres (GCC) based in India to build resilience while adapting to the challenges, speakers at a panel discussion said on Thursday.

Speaking on ‘Resilient GCC: Continuity and Compliance at a Global Scale’ at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026, industry experts said recent developments in global visa rules had affected talent mobility, forcing companies to adapt. Similarly, geopolitical developments affected data flow as well. These circumstances pushed the companies and the GCCs to adapt to the challenges arising out of these eventualities.

GCCs in India had witnessed rapid growth in the value chain and many among them had transformed to carrying out a large part of the core functions of the parent company. The global disruptions would only provide an opportunity for the GCCs to develop resilience, they added

Harsha Ram G., Business Head, Network Services, Sify Technologies, said in the face of global uncertainties, GCCs operating out of India were scaling up quite rapidly, while new GCCs were also being set up. There are 1,900 GCCs across India. “We have seen rapid growth in the value chain as some of the GCCs have even started developing or designing 70% to 80% of the core product in India,” he said.

Deepak Kota, Director, Global IT Support, Mars Snacking, said many large-scale GCCs set up in the past were led by processes and efficiency, but of late, it was more about driving value and bringing back more critical capabilities to this part of the world. “Today, the focus is more on understanding the customer, hyper-personalisation in terms of certain markets, and optimising supply chain as well depending on where you operate,” he said.

Kalilur Rahman, Senior GCC Advisor, said that over the past 10 years, India has transformed from being an “order taker” to being the pharma of the world. About 45% of innovative medical research was conducted in the pharma GCCs of the country, while a certain amount of biomedical research and innovative medical research was also being carried out in India, thanks to the technology available. In terms of leadership, there was a global shift happening from headquarters to India, slowly and steadily. “Around 4,500 to 4,800 of global leaders of the GCCs reside here and is expected to go up to 30,000 by 2030,” he added.

Santhosh Kumar M., Senior Director – Digital, KBR, Inc., said that while Indian GCCs in the oil and gas sector were getting a seat at the table in decision-making, care must be taken to consider behavioural challenges and people-related aspects while adopting to technologies on a global scale.

 John Xavier, Tech Editor, The Hindu, moderated the session. He said one of the key takeaways from the conversation was the progress made by nano-GCCs in various specialised fields, even while decoupling from tech and performing completely non-tech core functions of the parent company. Development of potential global leaders was another area where the GCCs had huge scope.