Hyderabad rises as India’s new GCC magnet, challenging Bengaluru’s lead

Hyderabad has overtaken Bengaluru as the preferred destination for setting up new GCCs (Global Capability Centres). According to UnearthIQ, Hyderabad has seen addition of 41 captive technology centres during April-November period of 2025. As compared to this, Bengaluru saw addition of around 30 GCCs during this period.

The report noted that during April-November period, about 85 GCCs have come up in India. Out of this, 60 are Greenfield projects. It means 60 foreign companies entered the GCC ecosystem by setting up new technology centres.

Around 25 companies have expanded their centres. It means some foreign firms expanded their technology centres in India by setting up second or third centres. The report also noted that GCC ecosystem in Hyderabad is well-diversified, spanning all sectors.

It also lauded the technology talent base of Telangana. As much as 59 per cent (1.82 lakh) of the total GCC talent pool of Telangana is engaged by the IT/ITeS firms, with BFSI, healthcare and manufacturing emerging as fast-growing domains.

Emergence of Hyderabad as a key city for GCCs is definitely a good sign for the Indian IT industry. Notably, apart from Bengaluru & Hyderabad, cities like Pune, Noida, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam have been attracting foreign firms to open technology centres.

In a way, such multi-city growth augurs well for the Indian GCC ecosystem. Especially, this trend should be seen in the context of rising protectionism in the US. The US has been biggest market for the Indian IT industry for long.

Around 30-50 per cent of revenue is being drawn from the US. So, the current disruptive policies of the US administration are a threat to the Indian IT industry’s future growth. Such a threat can only be mitigated if technology development, maintenance and related projects get executed from India. GCCs are exactly doing that.

So, the central government and state governments should actively promote setting up of GCCs by the foreign firms.

This way, global IT work gets executed from India. Moreover, India doesn’t face the issue of sending technology professionals to onshore locations like the US, which has adopted anti-immigrant policies by revising up the entry fee for H1B visa applications.

Domestically, a well-developed GCC ecosystem supports the Indian economy well. As GCCs come up in major cities and tier-II centres, its economic impact is profound. Apart from creating direct jobs, it supports several jobs indirectly. Usually, GCCs execute high-end jobs in the IT space.

So, higher number of GCCs in India will push Indian technology talent to a higher orbit in terms of capability. Lastly, regional growth is getting ensured through a well-diversified GCC ecosystem.

A well-developed IT centre attracts talent from hinterland, support economic growth and ensures digital transformation among local enterprises. All-in-all, Hyderabad’s competition with Bengaluru to attract GCCs into the city, has several healthy outcomes for the Indian IT industry.

As cities jostle to be investor-friendly, citizens get benefited in multiple ways. However, government agencies should always be mindful that the supporting ecosystem has to be excellent for these centres to come and flourish.

Therefore, complacency has no space for ensuring India’s position as a leader in the global GCC ecosystem.