The Union Budget 2026 has signalled the operational rollout of the National Global Capability Centre (GCC) Guidance Framework, which was announced in Budget 2025 but had not been implemented over the past year. The framework now moves into an execution phase focused on coordinated action between the central government and states.
India currently hosts around 1,800 Global Capability Centres. Nearly 30 percent of these centres are located in Bengaluru alone, while a further 40 percent are concentrated across Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. The distribution has remained largely unchanged for almost two decades. The operational framework is intended to support a more even spread of GCC investments across states and cities, particularly in tier-II and tier-III locations.
State-level guidance for attracting GCC investments
Under the operationalised framework, states will be provided structured guidance across four areas.
The first relates to talent assessment and skilling. States will be required to map local engineering and digital talent availability and align skilling initiatives with the requirements of multinational GCC operators.
The second area focuses on infrastructure readiness. States will be guided to identify and address gaps in office infrastructure, high-speed connectivity, power reliability and supporting urban services required for GCC operations.
The third component covers regulatory and administrative reforms. States will be advised on streamlining land approvals, labour-related processes and utility connections that directly affect large-scale captive technology and services centres.
The fourth pillar is industry and academic collaboration. The framework encourages structured partnerships between local universities, technology parks and multinational enterprises operating GCCs to support talent pipelines and ecosystem development.
Cost differentials between tier-I and tier-II cities
The framework is being positioned as part of a broader effort to address cost pressures arising from geographic concentration. Senior technology roles in Bengaluru typically command annual compensation in the range of ₹30–40 lakh. Comparable roles in tier-II locations such as Pune and Jaipur are reported to fall in the ₹20–25 lakh range.
These wage differentials directly affect the operating economics of GCCs, particularly for multinational companies that run India centres as cost-plus service operations for global business units.
Improving predictability for multi-year investment decisions
Prior to Budget 2026, states pursued GCC investments independently, with varying policies, infrastructure standards and skilling programmes. For multinational companies evaluating long-term expansion or new site selection, this resulted in fragmented information and uneven operating conditions across locations.
The National GCC Guidance Framework is intended to introduce common benchmarks and published guidance for states, enabling companies to compare locations on a standardised basis.
India currently has around 2 million professionals employed in GCCs, with these centres generating more than USD 60 billion in annual export revenues. The operationalisation of the framework is expected to support multi-year investment planning by global enterprises while enabling states beyond the major metropolitan clusters to participate more directly in GCC-led employment and technology activity.
