ArdorComm Media News Network
March 26, 2026
India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are increasingly stepping into influential global roles, reflecting a significant shift in how multinational companies leverage their India operations. According to insights from ANSR and Deloitte India, nearly 20% of GCCs now hold strategic authority—up sharply from just 5% a decade ago.
The number of global leadership positions based in India has surged dramatically, rising from just 115 in 2015 to over 6,500 today. This figure is projected to reach 30,000 by 2030, with artificial intelligence expected to further accelerate this trend.
Major global corporations are already entrusting their India centres with critical functions. Walmart oversees its global retail technology operations from Bengaluru and Chennai, while Target manages key aspects of its digital commerce and supply chain from Bengaluru. Similarly, Microsoft develops core components of Azure in India, and Amazon builds technologies for Alexa and Prime Video within the country.
A study by Ernst & Young highlights that 45% of GCCs in India now participate in global decision-making. However, the transformation remains uneven. Around 40–45% of centres still focus on back-office and IT support, while another 35–40% contribute to engineering and product development but lack control over pricing, market entry, or customer engagement.
Industry experts point out that while technical capabilities are strong, true strategic ownership is still limited. Many GCC leaders do not yet have full authority over budgets or product direction, keeping them more aligned with execution than decision-making.
That said, newer GCCs are being established with clearly defined strategic mandates from the outset—such as leading cloud transformations or global AI deployments—allowing them to mature faster. These account for 30–35% of new centres today, a significant rise from under 10% a decade ago.
Companies like Samsung are already empowering their India teams with ownership of product lines and innovation. Similarly, Alstom and Wabtec have assigned product responsibilities for local markets to their India operations. Meanwhile, the engineering depth in India has made centres of Google and Microsoft increasingly indispensable.
Despite this momentum, experts caution that not all business decisions will shift to India. Strategic choices tied closely to local markets—such as retail merchandising or financial services decisions—are likely to remain near headquarters.
However, the growing role of AI is reshaping this dynamic. As much of the development and deployment of AI systems happens in India, influence is gradually shifting closer to where the work is executed. The next phase of evolution for GCCs will depend on whether global headquarters are willing to extend greater decision-making power alongside this technological leadership.
Source: Economic Times