Charu Bhatia | Business Remedies| India’s IT employment story is undergoing a quiet but structural shift, driven by the rapid expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Once viewed largely as back-end cost centres focused on IT support and routine operations, GCCs have evolved into strategic hubs that are redefining how global companies hire, retain and deploy technology talent in India. Today, they are not just supplementing the traditional IT services industry, they are reshaping the very nature of IT jobs in the country.
GCCs are offshore units set up by multinational corporations to handle technology, analytics, engineering, product development and business operations. India hosts more than 1,600 GCCs, employing over 1.6 million professionals, and the number continues to grow as global firms seek scale, resilience and innovation amid economic uncertainty. Unlike conventional outsourcing models, GCCs operate as captive units, closely aligned with parent companies’ long-term strategies. This shift has significant implications for India’s IT workforce.
One of the most visible changes is the nature of roles being created. While traditional IT services firms largely focused on application maintenance, system integration and project-based delivery, GCCs are increasingly hiring for high-value skills. Roles in artificial intelligence, cloud architecture, cybersecurity, data engineering, product management and digital transformation are becoming core to GCC operations. This has raised the overall quality and complexity of IT jobs, offering professionals opportunities to work on global platforms, products and intellectual property rather than time-bound client projects.
Employment stability and career trajectories are also evolving. GCCs typically offer longer-term roles with deeper integration into global teams, resulting in lower attrition compared to IT services firms. Employees often see clearer career paths, international exposure and closer alignment with business outcomes. This has made GCCs especially attractive to mid-career professionals and niche technology specialists, intensifying competition for talent across the sector.
The rise of GCCs is also reshaping hiring geographies. While Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai remain major hubs, companies are increasingly expanding into tier-2 cities such as Coimbatore, Kochi, Indore, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar. This decentralisation is creating new employment clusters, reducing pressure on metro infrastructure and tapping into regional talent pools. For India’s IT workforce, this means more opportunities closer to home and a gradual shift towards distributed work models.
However, the GCC boom is not without challenges. Talent poaching has become more aggressive, pushing up wages for specialised skills and creating attrition pressures for traditional IT services firms. Many large IT companies are responding by strengthening their own global capability-style units, investing in upskilling programmes and repositioning themselves as innovation partners rather than pure service providers. The competition is forcing the industry to move up the value chain faster than before.
From a workforce perspective, continuous learning has become non-negotiable. GCCs demand domain expertise alongside technical skills, favouring professionals who understand industry-specific problems in banking, healthcare, retail or manufacturing. This is accelerating a shift away from generic IT roles towards hybrid profiles that combine technology, analytics and business knowledge.
Looking ahead, GCCs are expected to play an even bigger role in India’s IT employment landscape. As global enterprises look to consolidate operations, improve efficiency and build future-ready capabilities, India’s GCC ecosystem is likely to expand both in scale and scope. For professionals, this means more diverse, globally relevant career opportunities, but also higher expectations around skills, adaptability and innovation.
