India has emerged as a top destination for advanced manufacturing and Global Capability Centres in recent years. Industry leaders highlighted its policy reforms, skilled talent pool and improving infrastructure as key reasons during a recent roundtable hosted by the Consulate General of India in Houston.
Titled ‘India Spotlight: Strategic Insights for Advanced Manufacturing and Global Capability Centres,” the event brought together business executives and industry experts to explore opportunities for deeper India–US economic collaboration. The session was attended by representatives from banks, real estate and engineering firms, and moderated by Kishan Kunal, head — MNC USA at ICICI Bank, said a report of PTI.
India stands as the world’s leading destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and its trajectory is accelerating at an extraordinary pace. What originally began as a cost-saving exercise has evolved into a highly strategic, sophisticated ecosystem as more than 2,000 GCCs operate across India, employing over 1.9 million professionals, said a report of JLL India. These centers span critical functions from cutting-edge AI development to core research and development, signalling that India’s GCC landscape is no longer limited to support roles but now drives innovation and high-value operations for global enterprises.
The momentum is unmistakable. In 2025 alone, GCCs accounted for an unprecedented 38% of office leasing across India’s top seven cities, securing 31.3 million square feet—the highest volume ever recorded. This surge reflects not just growth in numbers but a fundamental shift in how multinational companies view their India footprint. From cost arbitrage to strategic capability hubs, GCCs are reshaping India’s role in the global corporate value chain, making it a central node for innovation, engineering and digital transformation.
Reforms and incentives boost competitiveness
Opening the discussion, Consul General of India in Houston DC Manjunath highlighted India’s ongoing economic reforms, investor-friendly policies and targeted incentive programmes that are strengthening the country’s credentials as a manufacturing and innovation hub. He pointed to government initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme as key policy levers that have enhanced India’s attractiveness for multinational firms.
GCCs scale rapidly; over 100 new centres annually
Panelists from ICICI Bank, JLL India and US engineering-and-technology firm KBR underlined the rapid expansion of India’s GCC ecosystem. They said more than 100 new GCCs are being established each year across sectors including technology, engineering, financial services and healthcare, reflecting companies’ growing preference to locate strategic capabilities in India.
A Global Capability Centeris a strategic offshore or nearshore unit set up by a multinational corporation to extend its capabilities beyond the home country. Unlike traditional back‑office setups focused mainly on cost savings, GCCs are innovation and operations hubs that deliver critical services across technology, engineering, finance, human resources, customer experience and research and development. By tapping into global talent pools and advanced technologies, GCCs help organisations digitalise faster, streamline processes and drive business growth, while also improving agility and access to top‑tier expertise in key markets.
Talent, clusters and incentives: India’s value proposition
Speakers — including Atul Jain of ICICI Bank (New York), Yogesh Shevade of JLL India and Natasha Frausto of KBR Inc. — highlighted India’s large pool of skilled talent, sector-specific industrial clusters, competitive state-level incentives, and improving physical and digital infrastructure.
“India’s combination of cost competitiveness, skilled workforce and targeted policy support is driving multinational investment in both manufacturing and capability centres,” PTI quoted one panelist.
GCCs as hubs for innovation and operations
Panelists emphasised that GCCs in India are evolving from back‑office operations into strategic hubs for research, engineering, innovation and business transformation. This shift, they noted, is helping India emerge as the world’s leading destination for GCCs, with firms leveraging local talent to drive product development, automation and digital services at scale.
GCCs in India have evolved from cost-saving back-offices into strategic hubs for innovation, research, engineering and operations, where companies run core product development, AI models and advanced analytics alongside business processes. Major multinationals have already restructured their India GCCs to drive innovation- Walmart’s India GCC in Bengaluru and Gurugram leads supply-chain optimisation, data analytics and AI-driven logistics for the global retailer; JPMorgan Chase’s large India operations in Mumbai and Bengaluru develop trading platforms, risk models and AI-powered customer solutions for its global business; and Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India in Bangalore focuses on autonomous driving, connected-car software and EV technologies for the global automaker.
Similarly, Intel’s India GCC contributes to chip design and validation, while HSBC’s India centers build digital banking platforms and fraud-detection systems. These examples show how GCCs are now central to product innovation, engineering excellence and operational transformation for their parent companies worldwide.
Strengthening India–US commercial ties and consulate’s role in promoting engagement
The roundtable facilitated discussions on strengthening trade, technology and innovation linkages between India and the United States, and showcased business opportunities for global companies looking to expand their footprint in India. Participants discussed practical steps to accelerate collaboration, from improving supply‑chain linkages to deeper partnerships between US firms and Indian research and engineering teams.
The Consulate General reaffirmed its commitment to promoting commercial engagement and facilitating partnerships that contribute to the growing strategic and economic relationship between India and the US. The event signalled a continuing push to present India as an integrated destination for manufacturing, services and innovation to global investors.