Indian GCCs employed more than 16 lakh people in FY23: Economic Survey

Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India provided employment to more than 16.6 lakh workers in FY23, data from the Economic Survey released on Monday showed.

Of the workforce, over 42 per cent of talent was engaged in engineering, research, and development (ER&D), 34.5 per cent in business process management (BPM), and 23.4 per cent in IT services, said the survey.

Further, the software, internet, and banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) sectors collectively accounted for about 58 per cent of India's IT GCC talent, according to the document.

“GCCs in India have grown significantly, from over 1,000 centres in FY15 to more than 1,580 centres, with over 2,740 units by FY23. These centres contribute to economic growth by providing high-quality employment,” read the survey document.

On the revenue front, the Economic Survey highlighted that the sector was growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4 per cent.

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It said that the revenue from India's GCCs increased from $19.4 billion in FY15 to $46 billion in FY23.

According to the survey, to incentivise GCCs in India, promoting specialisations in higher education was essential.

“Focus areas should include Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, 3D Printing, and Web and Mobile Development,” the document further said.

The survey also said that the proliferation of GCCs has imparted resilience to India's services exports, giving further thrust to the sector.

On the rise of GCCs in India, the survey says that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and global inflation, which pressured wages, encouraged global players to look towards India to set up their back-office operations to balance their cost model. This gave rise to a sudden proliferation of the GCCs.

“The growth in GCCs is reflected in the services balance of payments (BoP), with other business services being the second-largest contributor in services exports in FY24 (26 per cent), after IT services (48 per cent),” the survey further added.