How to Set Up a GCC in India: A Complete Strategic Guide

Quick Summary :- Planning to build a Global Capability Center in India? This guide walks you through every critical step from choosing the right GCC model and location to understanding costs, compliance, hiring strategies and timelines. Learn how global enterprises successfully create GCCs that drive innovation, efficiency and long term growth.

India is no longer just a cost saving destination, it has become the global hub for innovation led Global Capability Centers (GCCs). With over 1,700 GCCs contributing billions in value, global enterprises are increasingly choosing India not just to reduce costs, but to build long term strategic capabilities.

India’s GCC ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Industry projections suggest the domestic GCC market will reach nearly US$110 billion by 2030, with 2,400+ GCCs operating across the country, reinforcing India’s position as a Global Capability Center for innovation.

This guide explains how to set up GCC in India, covering operating models, legal and compliance requirements, location selection, talent strategy, cost considerations and timelines, helping enterprises build a global capability center that delivers measurable business impact.

Why is India the Preferred Destination for GCCs?

India is recognized as the world’s most ‘balanced’ GCC ecosystem, blending scale, efficiency and innovation to outperform other global hubs. However, a BCG report reveals that only 8% of GCCs globally have reached true maturity.

The secret? It’s no longer just about scale, it’s about evolving from the ‘engine room’ to ‘steering the ship’ through innovation and value creation. Today, global enterprises choose India to build high impact GCCs driving innovation, product engineering, analytics and digital transformation.

Access to High Value Talent

India offers one of the world’s largest pools of software engineers, data scientists and domain specialists. Enterprises benefit from talent density, enabling faster scaling, knowledge continuity and long term capability building rather than short term staffing solutions.

Cost Efficiency with Strong ROI

GCC operating costs in India are lower than in Western markets, but the real advantage lies in value per engineer. Indian GCCs consistently deliver higher productivity, faster delivery cycles and better cost to output ratios, ideal for value driven operating models.

Mature Ecosystem and Infrastructure

India’s GCC ecosystem includes robust vendor networks, advanced digital infrastructure and proven delivery frameworks. Enterprises can leverage this maturity to reduce setup risks, accelerate time to value and focus on strategic outcomes rather than operational complexity.

Time Zone Advantage and Global Integration

India’s alignment with the US, Europe and APAC allows near continuous operations, faster decision making, shorter release cycles and real time collaboration critical for GCCs designed to create business value, not just execute tasks.

Long Term Scalability and Innovation Potential

India enables GCCs to scale beyond cost savings. Many centers evolve into global innovation hubs, owning products, platforms and IP while supporting enterprise wide growth strategies.

Step-by-Step Process to Setting Up a GCC in India

Setting up a Global Capability Center in India requires strategic planning, decision making and operational precision. Following a structured approach ensures that your GCC delivers long term business impact rather than just short term cost savings.

Step 1: Define GCC Objectives & Value Charter

Before any operational setup, enterprises must clarify the purpose and strategic goals of the GCC:

• Determine the operating model: Will it function as a cost center, innovation hub or product development engine?
• Set measurable value metrics: Focus on business outcomes, innovation velocity, IP creation and scalability, not just operational efficiency.
• Align with enterprise strategy: Ensure the GCC supports the company’s global roadmap, product vision and market expansion goals.

A clearly articulated charter prevents the GCC from becoming a transactional “back office” and positions it as a business driving hub.

Step 2: Choose the Right GCC Setup Model

Selecting the appropriate GCC operating model is critical for long term success. The right model ensures alignment with business objectives, operational efficiency and innovation potential.

Common GCC Models in India include:

1. BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer)

• With Build Operate Transfer, partner builds and operates the GCC initially, then transfers ownership to the enterprise.
• Reduces upfront investment and operational risks while gradually gaining full control and IP ownership.
• Suitable for companies entering India for the first time.

2. Captive GCC (Wholly Owned Center)

• Owned and operated by the parent company.
• Full control over strategy, processes and IP.
• Best for enterprises aiming for high strategic value and innovation ownership.

Also Read: Managed GCC vs Captive GCC: Which Model Fits Your Enterprise?

3. Partner Led GCC (Managed Services or Joint Venture)

• Operations run in partnership with a local or global service provider.
• Offers faster setup and operational support, but strategic control may be shared.
• Ideal for companies looking for speed to market with lower initial risk.

Tip: Captive models favor strategic impact, while BOT and partner led approaches accelerate deployment and reduce initial risks.

Step 3: Legal & Compliance Setup in India

Setting up a GCC in India requires careful attention to the GCC legal compliance structure and regulatory requirements.

Choose the Right Legal Entity

• Most GCCs register as Private Limited Companies under the Companies Act, 2013.
• Other options include LLPs or branch offices, depending on ownership structure and operational scope.
• Choosing the right entity affects taxation, liability and regulatory compliance, impacting long term value.

Regulatory Compliance

• Labor laws: Comply with Indian labor regulations, employee benefits and statutory obligations.
• Tax compliance: Understand corporate tax benefits, GST and transfer pricing rules.
• Sector specific licenses: Certain GCCs, especially in fintech, healthcare or telecom, may require additional approvals.

Data Protection & IP Safeguards

• Establish robust data privacy policies in line with India’s IT Act and emerging Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) regulations.
• Protect intellectual property and software through patents, trademarks and NDAs, ensuring your GCC becomes a strategic innovation hub, not just a cost center.

Enterprises that integrate compliance early reduce operational risks, safeguard innovation and offer long term strategic value from their GCC.

Step 4: Location Selection in India

Choosing the right location is critical for a GCC’s success, scalability and long term value creation. The city you select impacts talent access, operating costs, infrastructure quality and your ability to scale strategically.

Top GCC Locations in India include:

1. Bengaluru (Bangalore)

• Known as India’s tech capital with a deep talent pool in software development, Artificial Intelligence and digital product engineering.
• Strong startup ecosystem and mature vendor networks.
• Higher costs, but unmatched access to high value talent.

2. Ahmedabad

• Emerging hub for IT and fintech services with a growing talent pool in software, data analytics, and engineering.
• Cost effective operations compared to Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
• Strong government initiatives supporting business growth and infrastructure development.

3. Hyderabad

• Rapidly growing tech hub with modern infrastructure and favorable business policies.
• Offers lower operating costs compared to Bengaluru, with similar talent quality.
• Ideal for enterprises balancing cost and access to skilled professionals.

4. Pune

• Emerging IT and engineering hub, popular for analytics, product development and operations.
• Offers a good cost to talent ratio and high quality of life for employees.

5. National Capital Region (NCR – Gurgaon/Noida/Delhi)

• Strong corporate ecosystem with access to diverse talent across multiple domains.
• Strategic for enterprises needing proximity to clients, government and global offices.

6. Chennai

• Traditional IT and BPO hub with mature infrastructure and business friendly environment.
• Lower attrition rates and strong engineering talent in manufacturing, software and analytics.

Tier-2 and emerging cities offer around 25% lower cost bases without compromising talent quality.

Step 5: Talent Hiring & Team Structure

GCC’s success depends heavily on building the right GCC talent ecosystem. Hiring strategically ensures your center delivers high value output, innovation and scalable capabilities, rather than functioning as a transactional support unit.

With India’s GCC workforce expected to reach 3.46 million by 2030 as AI scales up, enterprises can build high value teams that drive innovation and scalable business impact.

1. Identify Core Roles

• Leadership: GCC leaders, technology leads, product managers to drive strategy and governance.
• Technical experts: Software engineers, data scientists, AI software specialists and platform developers.
• Business operations: Analysts, project managers, finance, HR and compliance personnel.

2. Define Team Structure

• Adopt a hybrid structure: combine small, cross functional teams for innovation with specialized squads for execution.
• Align team hierarchy to enterprise goals, ensuring clear accountability and faster decision making.

3. Talent Acquisition Strategy

• Partner with local recruitment agencies and leverage India’s top universities for high quality hires.
• Focus on skill, innovation mindset and cultural alignment with the parent company.
• Consider retention programs, learning paths and career growth opportunities to reduce attrition.

GCCs that invest in strategic hiring, skill development and structured teams consistently outperform peers. High value teams accelerate innovation, improve delivery quality and transform the center into a long term business driver.

Step 6: Infrastructure & Technology Stack

A GCC’s infrastructure and technology choices directly impact productivity, security and scalability.

Physical and Remote Infrastructure

• Decide between corporate office space, co-working hubs or fully remote development teams based on operational needs.
• Ensure facilities support collaboration, innovation labs and hybrid working models for flexibility and employee satisfaction.

Technology Stack Selection

• Adopt a cloud-first approach to enable scalability, resilience and cloud cost optimization.
• Include collaboration, project management and enterprise tools to enhance cross functional efficiency.
• Implement advanced data analytics, Artificial Intelligence and DevOps automation to increase innovation velocity and decision making capabilities.

Investing in scalable infrastructure, secure systems and cloud first tools enables faster innovation, higher productivity and measurable long term ROI.

Also Read: Role of Technology in Global Capability Center

Common Challenges in Setting Up a GCC (And How to Solve Them)

Even with careful planning, setting up a GCC has some challenges in terms of operational, strategic and talent. Anticipating these early helps enterprises maximize value, reduce risks and accelerate ROI.

Talent Retention

• Challenge: High attrition rates in competitive tech markets.
• Solution: Implement strong retention programs, career growth paths, mentorship and employee engagement initiatives to ensure continuity and build a high value workforce.

Cultural Alignment

• Challenge: Misalignment between parent company culture and local teams can slow decision making.
• Solution: Conduct cultural integration workshops, align incentives and create cross functional collaboration programs to foster a unified culture that drives strategic goals.

Governance and Process Gaps

• Challenge: Lack of clear governance structures can lead to inefficiency and misaligned objectives.
• Solution: Define robust governance frameworks, clear roles and KPIs to ensure transparency, accountability and alignment with enterprise strategy.

Scaling Too Fast

• Challenge: Rapid expansion without proper planning can lead to operational bottlenecks and quality issues.
• Solution: Scale in phases, prioritize high value capabilities first and implement continuous monitoring to ensure sustainable growth.

Regulatory Compliance

• Challenge: Misunderstanding labor laws, tax policies or data regulations can result in penalties.
• Solution: Engage legal and compliance experts early, conduct regular audits and adopt best in class compliance frameworks.

Partnering with eSparkBiz for Accelerated GCC Setup

Setting up a GCC in India can be complex, but partnering with us at eSparkBiz helps enterprises accelerate setup while maximizing value.

Our expertise ensures strategic execution, operational efficiency and compliance readiness, allowing companies to focus on innovation and long term growth.

Our BOT Approach:

• Build: We set up the GCC infrastructure, hire the right talent and implement technology systems.
• Operate: We manage day-to-day operations, ensuring smooth processes and compliance.
• Transfer: Ownership is gradually handed over to the enterprise once the center is fully operational and optimized.