Deloitte’s Romal Shetty reveals the exciting Future of India’s GCC Growth

• At the CII GCC Summit, Deloitte’s Romal Shetty dropped big news: India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are set to explode, growing nearly 3X in size and unlocking a staggering $600 billion in value.
• He went on to add that India’s GCCs are going to skyrocket from 1,800 to 5,000. Creating 25 million quality jobs…
• Romal Shetty’s vision is bold, backed by data and laced with urgency. But ….

GCCs: A massive market still untapped

India may already be home to 1,800+ GCCs, but according to Shetty, the GCC opportunity is far from saturated:

• 67% of Fortune 500 companies have yet to set up GCCs in India
• 77% of Forbes Global 2000 companies are still waiting to enter this space

Growth isn’t just from global giants; mid-sized companies are fueling the momentum, too.

“Mid-market firms (USD 100M–1B revenue) made up 35% of new GCCs in the last two years.”

These focused, specialised mid-market GCCs are quietly leading the next wave of disruption.

Shetty says the right policies, ecosystem support, and coordination could grow India’s GCCs from 1,800 to 3,400–5,000 in a few years.

Bottom line: From startups to conglomerates, everyone wants a slice of India’s talent and cost edge.

But this isn’t just about increasing numbers…

It’s about the evolution in what these GCCs do.

According to Romal Shetty, GCCs are not just processing invoices or running payroll.

They are now building global tools, apps, platforms, and strategy.

“Over 70% of GCCs now focus on digital product development, not just service delivery,” Shetty explained.

Economic and job impact

“The GCC ecosystem could unlock $470–600 billion in economic contribution by 2030,” Shetty noted.

Yes, that’s nearly 3% of India’s GDP—and a major piece of the country’s $1 trillion services export vision.

And according to Shetty, GCCs could become one of India’s biggest job creators over the next 5 years.

Employment today includes:

• 2.16 million direct GCC jobs

Shetty forecasts:

• 5 million direct jobs
• Another 20 million indirect jobs

This is the biggest career surge since the BPO era.

Next opportunity? Tier 2/3 cities

Currently, 95% of GCCs operate in India’s top 6 metros.

But government-backed policy shifts are unlocking Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities like Jaipur, Kochi, and Indore.

Also read: Uttar Pradesh GCC Policy introduced: Aims to hit its $1 trillion economy!

Also read: KPMG GCC India leader unveils big shifts & billion-dollar opportunities

GCCs aren’t innovating in isolation

Shetty highlighted the role of India’s tech ecosystem:

“1.8 lakh+ startups and 100+ unicorns strengthen the provision of a vibrant innovation pipeline for GCCs to source frontier solutions.”

This synergy between corporate GCCs and agile startups is what’s making India globally competitive.

Calling out the GCC hype

After speaking with several industry insiders, we learned many of these GCCs are nothing more than “glorified offshore delivery centres (ODCs)”

Yes, they built for cost and headcount, not innovation or impact.

“The central C in GCC is supposed to mean Capability, but for many, it only stands for Capacity.”

The real challenge? Lack of Leadership Depth & Direction!

• Many “GCC leaders” today are ops leaders, not business leaders.
• They do not own P&L, tech roadmap, Ips or global KPIs.
• There’s a gap in understanding global macro trends, tech disruption, and true value creation.

Do we see Layoffs at GCCs?

Yes, the next wave of layoffs is coming, driven by AI, automation, and overstaffed capacity centres.

Many believe the“GCCs = jobs = growth.”

In fact, many of these so-called GCCs employing thousands of workers will see a significant portion of their jobs automated sooner rather than later.

Yes, automation and AI are reshaping the landscape. The focus is shifting to high-skill roles such as AI/ML and cybersecurity, rather than operational support.

Recent layoffs at Wells Fargo’s 400 job cuts in India signal a change.

A Nasscom/Inductus NXT study reports a 10–15% drop in GCC hiring in Q1 2025, especially in BFSI sectors.

Wrapping up…

India’s GCC story is only just beginning.

And if Romal Shetty’s vision plays out, we’re looking at a future of millions of new jobs, global leadership in services exports, and a thriving tech innovation pipeline.

But it demands:

• Bold leadership with depth
• Deep upskilling and reskilling (78% of GCCs are investing in GenAI training programs, per Zinnov data)
• A shift from “capacity centres” to true capability centres