Sector snapshot
Professional services in India cover IT and IT-enabled services, business process management, engineering and R&D services, consulting, and a narrow opening for foreign legal services. Much of the recent foreign investment comes from multinational groups running their own centres. Global capability centres (GCCs) are units that multinational groups own and run in India for technology, engineering, analytics and business operations. Industry and official counts of them differ by basis and year, so each figure below carries its source and year.
| Measure | Figure | Basis and source |
|---|---|---|
| GCCs in India | 2,110+, operating across 3,728+ units | FY2026E; Zinnov |
| Revenue generated by India’s GCCs | USD 98 bn (USD 98.4 bn) | FY2026E; Zinnov estimate |
| Professionals employed | 1.9 mn+, in over 1,700 GCCs | FY2023-24; Economic Survey 2025-26 |
| FDI equity into computer software and hardware | USD 14 bn (USD 13,946 mn) | FY2025-26; DPIIT, provisional |
Four points from the sources frame the sector:
- The work has moved up the value chain. The Economic Survey 2025-26 notes that GCCs now undertake product development, engineering, analytics, cybersecurity operations and AI-enabled digital functions, not only support work.
- Growth has been steady. The Economic Survey 2025-26 reports that GCCs grew at a 7% compound annual rate from FY2019-20 to FY2024-25, citing the availability and diversity of talent as key drivers.
- Talent is concentrated and spreading. Bengaluru alone holds over 30% of India’s GCCs and 35% of the GCC workforce (Invest India), while tier-2 and tier-3 cities such as Coimbatore, Indore and Vizag are drawing new centres (Zinnov).
- Policy support is now explicit. Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha offer GCC-specific capital, rent, payroll or EPF support, and Budget 2026-27 announced a single 15.5% safe harbour for IT services.
Where the opportunity is
Foreign groups are building six kinds of capability in India.
| Capability | What the sources say | Tag |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering, software and product development | The Economic Survey 2025-26 lists product development and engineering among core GCC activities. T-Mobile’s Hyderabad centre, inaugurated in June 2026, covers software engineering, DevOps, product development, data analytics and cybersecurity. | Core GCC work |
| AI, data and analytics | India ranks second globally in AI skill penetration, at 2.5 against 2.6 for the US (Stanford AI Index 2025, cited in the Economic Survey 2025-26), which lists AI-enabled digital functions among the work GCCs now do. | 2nd in AI skills |
| Financial services and operations | Billtrust, a B2B financial technology company, opened a Hyderabad GCC on 28 September 2026 with a commitment of ₹450 crore over three years. In GIFT IFSC, IFSCA approved new Global In-House Centre Regulations on 22 December 2025. | GIFT IFSC option |
| Mid-market GCCs | The Economic Survey 2025-26 credits mid-sized and emerging multinationals with diversifying the GCC base. Entry thresholds can be modest: Uttar Pradesh’s Level-1 category starts at ₹15 crore of investment or 100 employees outside Gautam Buddha Nagar and Ghaziabad. | Smaller first sites |
| Tier-2 and tier-3 cities | Over 82,000 GCC professionals worked from tier-2 and tier-3 cities such as Coimbatore, Indore and Vizag in FY2024 (Zinnov). Several state policies pay more for locations outside the main metros. | 82,000+ professionals |
| Life sciences and industrial GCCs | In July 2024 AstraZeneca announced an expansion making its Chennai GCC its largest worldwide; Lonza announced plans for a Hyderabad GCC on 5 March 2026. Business Standard counted over 50,000 GCC jobs in Tamil Nadu from more than 40 global companies in three years to July 2024. | Beyond IT |
Foreign legal services are a seventh, narrower opening: registered foreign lawyers and firms may advise on foreign and international law in non-litigious work only (see FDI rules).
Companies named above are public examples reported by the companies, state governments or the press. Headcounts are company plans, not commitments.
How this hub is organised
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Recent investments | GCCs opened or announced by US and European groups in 2024–2026 |
| FDI rules | Caps, routes and conditions for IT and services, LLPs, foreign lawyers, GIFT IFSC GICs and land-border investors |
| Regulators and registrations | Company, FEMA, labour, visa and data-protection filings a captive needs before go-live |
| Central incentives | IT safe harbour, APA fast-track, data-centre tax holiday, ELI, RDI, IFSC relief and the tier-2 GCC framework, with status |
| State incentives | GCC policies of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha |
| Tax and zones | Cost-plus pricing, safe harbour, APAs, PE after Hyatt, GST on exports, GIFT IFSC and the general corporate tax tables |
| Set-up roadmap | Ten steps from location choice to go-live for a 100–500 seat captive, plus entry vehicles and incorporation |
| What to watch | PE, margin, Labour Codes, DPDP, incentive lock-ins and expatriate staffing |
| Recent changes | What changed since 2025, by date |
| Sources | Every reference the brochure cites |
The dedicated GCC hub goes deeper on operating models, locations, tax and transfer pricing, people and hiring and a FAQ.
What to check next
- Decide whether the centre is a captive GCC, a services business selling to Indian clients, or both; the FDI route is the same but the tax and GST treatment differ.
- Confirm which figure of GCC count or headcount you are relying on and its year, since Zinnov and the Economic Survey count on different bases.
- Shortlist a metro and a tier-2 option before modelling incentives; several states pay more outside the main cities.
- Read the GCC operating models page before choosing between an owned entity, build–operate–transfer and a managed team.