India's GCC workforce to reach 3.46 million by 2030 as AI scales up: Report

India's tech sector is poised for strong expansion as global capability centres shift from AI pilots to full-scale deployment, creating new roles, reshaping legacy jobs

India’s technology sector is projected to see an 11 per cent increase in jobs, with the total workforce expected to reach 2.4 million by 2026 and 3.46 million by 2030, driven by global capability centres (GCCs) scaling beyond artificial intelligence (AI) pilots, according to a new report from global technology and digital talent solutions provider NLB Services.

 

The report, Workforce 2.0 Reset – India’s GCCs Go AI-Native, outlines the impact of AI-led transformation across centres.

 

“India is at a critical intersection in its GCC 4.0 journey, building a unique and unmatched synergy of scale, skill and talent. Today, GCCs are no longer just exploring AI – rather, many have or are moving towards deployment. While AI thrust in this sector was expected, this year has seen a stronger drive for implementation,” NLB Services chief executive officer Sachin Alug said.

   

“GCC workforce projection by 2030, indicated earlier, is now set to see a 30 per cent surge, adding 1.3 million new jobs,” he added.

 

The report draws on insights from 321 GCC leaders across six Indian cities and 10 sectors. The research was conducted through a mixed-method approach between July and October 2025.

 

What roles are emerging as GCCs adopt AI?

 

According to the findings, several new roles are emerging across GCCs: Cybersecurity and AI governance architects (29 per cent), prompt engineers (26 per cent), GenAI product owners (22 per cent), and AI policy and risk strategists (21 per cent).

 

Which legacy roles are being phased out?

 

At the same time, legacy roles are being phased out as centres move towards AI-native, product-focused teams that tackle L1 IT support (75 per cent), legacy application development (74 per cent), manual QA (72 per cent), and on-prem infrastructure management (67 per cent).

 

How are GCCs expanding beyond Tier-I hubs?

 

GCCs are also expanding beyond Tier-I cities, creating a more distributed workforce model that is expected to generate 7.15 lakh net new jobs by 2030.

 

“By 2030, nearly 39 per cent of the GCC workforce will operate from Tier-II and -III cities, enabling our shift from metro-focused to a more distributed workforce model. While Tier-I cities will continue to serve as centres for leadership, governance, and R&D, emerging Tier-II and Tier-III hubs such as Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Bhubaneswar are rapidly becoming specialised delivery centres. The new synergy across Tier-II/III cities will create 0.715 million net new GCC jobs by 2030,” Varun Sachdeva, senior vice president and Asia Pacific (Apac) head at NLB Services, said.