Why Hyderabad is seeing a fresh wave of global capability centres
New Delhi, Sep 23, 2026
With more GCCs expected to arrive, Hyderabad's established technology, BFSI and life-sciences ecosystems are becoming an increasingly important part of its appeal
Hyderabad is seeing a fresh wave of global capability centre (GCC) activity, with global companies increasing investments in technology, financial services, life sciences, engineering and other corporate functions. According to a recent report by Anarock Research & Advisory and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), the city added more than 70 GCCs in financial year 2024-25, the highest among the major Indian GCC markets, taking its total to more than 515 and its GCC workforce to over 300,000. The report says Hyderabad accounted for about a fifth of India's GCC base as of March 2026.
So what has changed in the past few years to make Hyderabad such a strong draw for global companies? The Anarock-Ficci report identifies talent, cost competitiveness, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) depth, life sciences capabilities, sector diversification, and ease of doing business among the key factors behind Hyderabad's growing appeal.
Talent and cost equation
According to the report, talent is one of the key factors behind Hyderabad's growing appeal. The city has a large technology workforce, along with established capabilities in pharmaceuticals, life sciences, financial services, aerospace and engineering.
Yudhishter Shringi, chief growth officer at workplace food solution provider Compass Group India, told Business Standard that over the last two to three years, Hyderabad’s profile has evolved from being primarily an IT services hub to becoming a multi-sector GCC powerhouse. Compass serves around 70 per cent of GCC clients in Hyderabad and provides about 18,000 meals a day to GCC employees in the city.
Nirav Vakharia, managing director, operations & finance at EisnerAmper India, a Mumbai-based GCC with an office in Hyderabad, said companies are increasingly assessing locations on their overall value, including productivity, employee retention, infrastructure and ecosystem maturity.
The report estimates that Hyderabad has about one million IT workers and produces more than 400,000 STEM graduates each year. It also points to institutions such as IIT Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad, Bits Pilani Hyderabad, the University of Hyderabad and the Indian School of Business as part of the city's talent ecosystem.
For companies, however, the attraction is increasingly about more than the size of the technology workforce. GCC mandates are becoming more specialised, with global firms looking for capabilities in areas such as artificial intelligence, analytics, engineering, fintech and life sciences.
Shringi said cost remained an important consideration, but was increasingly part of a broader location decision. "Cost competitiveness is certainly an important consideration, and part of a broader location decision," he said.
Ketan Mukhija, partner and co-head, PE & VC, Kochhar & Co, a full-service corporate law firm for multinational companies, said Hyderabad's recent GCC growth reflected the evolution of India's value proposition for global businesses. While cost efficiency remained relevant, companies were increasingly assessing the availability of specialised talent, the depth of the local ecosystem, infrastructure and the ability to scale operations over the long term, he said.
According to the industry players, Hyderabad offers established industry clusters and modern Grade A office infrastructure.
The office space advantage
Availability of large, modern offices is another part of the equation. Hyderabad currently has around 125 million sq ft of Grade A office stock, according to the report, with another 36 million sq ft in the pipeline. Average Grade A office rents are around ₹75 per sq ft a month, below the pan-India average of ₹96, the report said.
The city's established office corridors include HITEC City, Madhapur, Gachibowli and the Financial District, with the Financial District-Kokapet corridor emerging as an important location for large occupiers.
The Anarock-Ficci report's data show that the office market is already responding to the GCC wave. Large transactions in 2026 included 500,000 sq ft leased by Tech Mahindra, 345,000 sq ft by Charles Schwab and 270,000 sq ft each by Invesco and LPL Financial.
Vakharia said quality commercial infrastructure and the ability to scale were becoming increasingly important as GCCs took on larger and more complex mandates.
For Shringi, the change is also visible in what companies expect from their workplaces. As GCCs expand both in scale and mandate, workplace requirements are increasingly extending to employee experience, wellbeing, food, facilities, sustainability and technology. "The conversation is moving beyond a conventional office setup towards integrated workplace ecosystems that support employee experience, wellbeing, food, facilities, sustainability, technology and productivity at scale," he said.
New entrants and existing GCCs
The current expansion is not limited to multinational companies setting up their first operations in Hyderabad.
Mukhija said the current momentum appeared to be coming from both new entrants establishing their presence in India and existing GCCs expanding their footprint and taking on more sophisticated mandates.
Vakharia said an important shift was the movement from execution-oriented functions towards specialised capabilities, greater ownership and decision-making.
The leasing numbers provide evidence of the broader expansion. According to the Anarock-Ficci report, GCC office leasing rose from 1.9 million sq ft in 2021 to 4.5 million sq ft in 2025, while more than 3 million sq ft was leased in the first half of 2026.
Technology and IT-enabled services remained the largest component of GCC leasing at 40 per cent in H1 2026, while BFSI accounted for 22 per cent. Co-working accounted for another 20 per cent.
The report identifies GCC activity across BFSI, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, semiconductors, aerospace and defence, automotive and engineering, consumer and retail, healthcare, and media and sports technology.
Vakharia said technology remained a major driver, but BFSI, life sciences, healthcare and professional services were also contributing to the expansion.
"Hyderabad's strength lies in the intersection of these sectors with a large engineering and professional talent pool," he said.
Can the momentum continue?
The report estimates that another 50-70 GCCs could come to Hyderabad, generating 8-12 million sq ft of additional office demand over the next three to five years. It also estimates the creation of more than 75,000 high-skilled jobs, while flex and managed workspaces could generate another 2-3 million sq ft of demand.
But strong demand could itself create constraints. According to the report, Hyderabad has about 125 million sq ft of Grade A office stock, with another 36 million sq ft in the pipeline. Office completions have moderated in recent years even as absorption has remained strong.
Shringi said maintaining the pace of GCC expansion would require office supply to keep pace with demand. If supply does not scale proportionately, availability could tighten, and operating costs could come under pressure.
Specialised talent could become another constraint. Competition is likely to intensify for professionals in AI, data analytics, cybersecurity and advanced engineering as more GCCs enter the market.
Urban infrastructure will also matter. Housing, transport, connectivity and commute times could increasingly influence companies' ability to attract and retain employees.
For Vakharia, the ability to scale will be central to Hyderabad's next phase of growth. Companies are increasingly looking for locations that can support higher-value, globally integrated mandates rather than simply provide lower-cost delivery capacity.
The result is that Hyderabad's next phase of GCC growth may depend less on whether it can attract another company and more on whether it can continue to offer the combination that brought the current wave to the city in the first place.
[The Business Standard]
