Capability centres in India

What a capability centre is

A global capability centre (GCC) is a company's own operation in India, not an outsourced vendor. It may handle software engineering, product development, data and AI, cybersecurity, engineering design, finance, HR and other functions for the global group.

India hosts well over a thousand such centres, and the number keeps growing: industry tracker UnearthInsight counted 183 new units, greenfield and expansions, in the first half of 2026 alone. US companies still account for the majority, but European banks, insurers, carmakers, industrial groups and retailers are among the most active.

Why European companies build them

• Access to large pools of engineering and digital talent
• Ownership of intellectual property and know-how, unlike outsourcing
• Round-the-clock work with European teams
• A base for serving the Indian market later

How to set one up

1. Decide what it is for: which functions, how many people, what capabilities in three years.
2. Choose the city: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai and Delhi NCR are the main hubs, with Kochi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and others growing.
3. Choose the model: build it yourself, or use a "build-operate-transfer" partner that sets it up and hands it over.
4. Set up the entity: usually a wholly owned subsidiary.
5. Recruit leadership first, then the core team.
6. Plan integration with European teams: processes, travel, culture.

The role of European leaders

Many centres start with a European leader or a few European specialists who understand the parent company, working alongside Indian leadership. Over time, leadership usually shifts to India. See working in India.

Pitfalls

• Treating the centre as a cost centre only, which limits talent attraction
• Nobody being sure what the centre is for or who decides
• Underestimating attrition in hot skill areas