India Preferred Destination For GCCs Due To Strong Ecosystem: Nirmala Sitharaman
The finance minister further emphasised that the GCCs have become a catalyst for regional development because of their second-order economic impact
New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that India has emerged as a preferred destination for global capability centres (GCCs) due to its strong ecosystem, backed by world-class infrastructure and stable macroeconomic management. "The competitiveness, world-class infrastructure, stable macroeconomic management create ecosystems for GCCs" she said at CII National GCC Business Summit 2026 here.
Highlighting the sector's growth, the finance minister also said that Indian economy can have second-order impact. "The GCC movement, if more towards tier-2, tier-3 cities, can have faster development of regional areas. Also, India is home to more than 2,100 GCCs, employing over 2.3 million professionals and generating annual revenues of about $100 billion," Sitharaman said.
"Some elements you might find in some parts of our economy, and some other elements in other areas, but all these human capability-related elements get maximised in the GCCs. So today, the greatest competitive advantage lies in generating knowledge, applying technology, and solving complex problems," she said, adding that the competitiveness, world-class infrastructure, stable macroeconomic management create ecosystem for GCCs.
The finance minister further emphasised that the GCCs have become a catalyst for regional development because of their second-order economic impact. "The 21st century is increasingly being shaped by "organised human capability", with GCCs representing its "crystallised form". All human capabilities get maximised in GCC," she said.
She also said that every period of economic history is remembered for the resource that determined prosperity. "The 19th century rewarded nations that mastered industrial production, while the 20th century rewarded those that accumulated financial capital and expanded global markets. I would not be wrong in saying that the 21st century is steadily being shaped by a different resource altogether, organised human capability. You can see it reflected in different forms, but its most crystallised form is the GCC," she added