Hyd pipped B'luru as top GCC hub: Expert

Visakhapatnam: Hyderabad has overtaken Bengaluru as India’s top destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), driven by a strong talent ecosystem, lower realty prices, and rapid expansion, while Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Amaravati and Tirupati are emerging as the next growth hubs owing to cost advantage and proactive , an industry expert said.

With the availability of a strong ecosystem, talent pool and lower realty prices, Hyderabad has overtaken Bengaluru as the top destination for Global Capability Centers (GCCs), whereas Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada-Amaravati and Tirupati have the potential to emerge as future growth hubs due to cost advantages and proactive government policy unveiled by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh, according to an expert of repute.

Member of CII Task Force on GCCs and Executive Vice President and Global GCC Practice Leader at HCLTech Kiran Cherukuri told Bizz Buzz on the sidelines of second edition of Andhra Pradesh Digital Technology Summit here on Friday that due to rapid growth and cost advantages and saturation in Bengaluru, Hyderabad has outpaced India's premier hub as the destination for GCCs in the past two years.

He said IT and GCC Policy evolved by IT Minister Nara Lokesh in Andhra Pradesh and the brand name of CBN, has led to many to evince interest in investing in GCCs in Visakhapatnam. Already a handful of companies signed MoUs at the CII Partnership Summit.

HCL campus in Vijayawada and the development of Amaravati as a futuristic capital is also set to bring many GCCs to the Krishna region. Tirupati, due to its reputation as a world famous pilgrimage centre and its close proximity to Chennai and Bengaluru has also the potential to emerge as a GCC hub.

The GCC investment in India, which is estimated at $65 billion, is expected to grow to $110 billion by 2030, Kiran said. At present, GCCs account for 35 per cent of technocrats, which will increase to 50 per cent by 2030. The number of GCCs will also go up to 2600 from 1800 in the next four to five years. Hyderabad at present is home for 400 GCCs as against 900 in Bengaluru, he said.

According to industry sources, Hyderabad has attracted 41 to 46 per cent of new GCCs followed by an estimated 30 to 33 per cent by Bengaluru. ANSR and Eisai Pharmaceuticals have already announced their plans to establish GCCs in Visakhapatnam.

Kiran, a strategic business leader, who is a member of advisory committee set up by Andhra Pradesh Government for bringing GCCs to the State, said though there is a large talent pool available, the need of the hour is to undertake skill mapping and address the skill gaps, assure availability of mid-level managers and R&D with the collaboration of academia-industry.

"In Andhra Pradesh, we have IIT, IIM, NIT, IIIT, deemed universities like SRM, GITAM and VIT. There is a need to roll out industry-ready graduates in AI, emerging technologies, virtual reality, analytics, cybersecurity, cloud computing and quantum computing. GCCs, which used to be confined to the BFSI sector with focus on fintech, is now diversifying into healthtech, pharmaceuticals, defence and agritech," he said.

Speaking on changing dynamics of GCCs, he said GCCs, over the years, have evolved from traditional low-cost units into strategic, high-value and integrated operational hubs. "What they are looking at is global heads at their centers. A vibrant startup system and innovation culture is required.

"India is a very big market for them due to the abundant entry level talent pool. Connectivity and ready-to-operate buildings, solid digital and physical infrastructure as well as social infrastructure give brownie points for attracting investors on the GCC front. Product engineering has turned into the focus area.