India's Global Capability Centres are transitioning from basic delivery engines into knowledge-driven enterprise nerve centres, industry leaders said [1].
This evolution marks a strategic shift in how multinational corporations utilize Indian talent. Rather than focusing solely on operational efficiency and cost reduction, these centres are now architecting global innovation and driving high-level business strategy [2].
During the first week of May 2026, the Nasscom GCC Summit in Mumbai served as the forum for this discussion [2]. The panel featured Reema Tendulkar as host, alongside Anand Bhushan, the Saint-Gobain GCC Leader, and Arindam Sen, a Partner and GCC Sector Leader at EY India [1].
The participants said the necessity of building knowledge-driven enterprises is required to maintain a competitive edge. They noted that the GCC ecosystem is entering a new phase where the focus is on creating intellectual property, and managing complex global workflows from within India [1, 2].
This transition involves a move away from the traditional outsourcing model. By establishing these centres as nerve centres, companies can integrate their Indian operations more deeply into the core decision-making processes of the parent organization [2].
The summit highlighted that this shift is not merely technical but cultural. It requires a change in how global headquarters perceive the capabilities of their Indian counterparts—moving from a supportive role to a leadership role in innovation [1, 2].
“India's GCC ecosystem is moving into a new, knowledge-driven phase.”
The shift of Global Capability Centres from operational hubs to strategic 'nerve centres' indicates that India is moving up the value chain in the global economy. By transitioning from execution to innovation, India is positioning itself as a primary source of intellectual property and strategic leadership for multinational corporations, rather than just a destination for cost-effective labor.
