Govt to give best of attention to promote GCCs: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Sitharaman says the Centre will offer tax, legal and administrative support to boost GCCs in India and guide states to develop hubs in tier 2 cities

The government would back the development of India’s global capability centres (GCCs), whether through taxation, legislative support, or state administration, Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday.

 

Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s GCC Business Summit, the FM said, “There’s a lot of work to do. Equally, there is great opportunity for us. So together, with all heads put together, we'll be able to get some concrete steps on which I assure you the best of attention will be given by the Government of India.”

 

Stressing that India should not lose this advantage, Sitharaman said that while taxation was one issue being faced by GCCs, there was a need to lubricate the entire administrative and governing mechanism top-down to ensure the advantages are available for everyone to capture across the country.

 

In her Budget 2025 speech, Sitharaman had announced that a national framework would be formulated to guide states in promoting GCCs in emerging Tier-II cities. “This will suggest 16 measures for enhancing availability of talent and infrastructure, building by-law reforms, and mechanisms for collaboration with industry,” the FM had said. 

 

She added that some work had been done on advance pricing and tax-related rulings in the last Budget.

 

Highlighting that the setup rate of engineering, research, and development GCCs has been 1.3x faster than the overall GCC setup rate over the last five years, Sitharaman said there was a clear shift towards high value-added work in India.

 

“India’s unique strength lies in its immense talent pool, accounting for 28 per cent of the global science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and 23 per cent of the global software engineering talent,” the FM said, stressing that over 32 per cent of global GCC talent is currently based in India.

 

Sitharaman also said that India’s talent is more cost-effective compared to other countries, costing 30–50 per cent less than in the US, the UK, and Australia.

 

Global roles within India’s GCCs, the FM said, are expected to increase from 6,500 today to over 30,000 by 2030 through robust in-house training programmes that nurture globally ready leadership.

 

“Over the past decade, India’s GCC ecosystem has matured significantly, moving beyond execution to become centres of strategic leadership and transformation. Many GCCs now house high-end roles, including product managers, architects, data scientists, and global function heads,” the FM said.

 

Sitharaman highlighted that, on average, one new GCC per week was set up in 2024, with nearly 50 per cent of Fortune 500 companies establishing their GCCs in India.