Need to push GCC with policy support, exact action points: DEA Secy

There was a need to study state-specific policies where global capability centres (GCCs) have grown, such as Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka, to strategise how the government can support this sector with a targeted policy push, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Anuradha Thakur said on Monday. 

 

“We need exact action points. What should be allowed to grow organically, where a fillip is needed, and which are those areas of collaboration where government or industry needs to come forward and engage further,” Thakur said. 

 

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII’s) GCC Business Summit, Thakur said strong physical and digital infrastructure, strategic interventions through the Digital India initiative, streamlined approval processes, and large talent strength have helped GCCs grow. 

 

“Whether we need to replicate these models or enhance them further is something we need to deliberate today. Perhaps a bit of both,” Thakur added. 

 

Noting that more than 1,800 GCCs were operating out of India, Thakur said that these centres were a huge engine of revenue, growth, and employment and needed to expand their geographical spread. 

 

She said that with GCCs expanding into engineering, artificial intelligence, and emerging tech, there was a need for specialised courses to be brought in.  

 

Talking about the PM Internship scheme, Thakur said: “Unfortunately, GCCs could not participate to the extent that we had expected in the PM Internship scheme, and we found the decision making probably could have been faster than that.”

 

Speaking at the event, labour secretary Vandana Gurnani said that GCCs should leverage existing employment initiatives such as the Employment Linked Incentive scheme for talent acquisition and hold substantial potential for job creation.