Representative image of a workplace.
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: Bengaluru, the “Silicon Valley of India” has also emerged as the GCC Capital of India. Around 500 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which have chosen Bengaluru as the top choice for setting up their offshore campuses, are contributing significantly to the growth of the real estate sector in the city.
The GCCs have absorbed 12.43 million square feet of office space leased in FY2025, which is about 39 per cent of 31.8 million square feet of space occupied by them in the country, according to Vestian, a global commercial real estate consultancy.
The share of GCCs stood at 65 per cent of the total office space leased in the city in FY25. This is also the highest among the top seven cities in the country.
In FY24, the share of Bengaluru GCCs in the total area absorbed stood at 32 per cent. They absorbed 8.34 million sq ft of office space out of 25.60 million sq ft across the country.
Out of the total area absorbed by GCCs in FY25, 47 per cent was leased by Fortune 500 companies highlighting the city’s appeal as a global GCC hub.
In the last one-year, global technology giants such as Google, Amazon, Commonwealth Bank have leased 4 million square feet of office space in Bengaluru. Carl Zeiss AG, Cargill, Delta Electronics and RTX Corp are among those in the process of expanding their GCCs in Bengaluru. The city boasts of hosting GCCs of global tech majors like Accenture, Adobe, Airbus, Bank of America, Cisco, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Intel, JP Morgan, Microsoft, NTT Data, and Qualcomm among others.
India accounts for 53 per cent of the total number of GCCs in the world. There are 1,700 GCCs present in India employing over 1.9 million professionals. Of this, Bengaluru houses 487 GCCs spread across various industries.
IT/ITeS sector accounted for 54 per cent of the total number of GCCs in the city, followed by the BFSI sector with 13 per cent share. Other sectors such as Healthcare & Lifesciences, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Retail together accounted for 16 per cent of the total GCCs in Bengaluru, highlighting the city’s role as a diverse business hub.
The aviation sector, which accounts for only 1 per cent of the total number of GCCs in the city, held 5 per cent of the total area absorbed in FY25.
“India’s leading office markets continue to offer a compelling value proposition to GCCs, characterised by competitive costs, a highly skilled workforce, robust infrastructure, progressive policy incentives, and a conducive business environment,” Shrinivas Rao, CEO, Vestian, a property consultant said.
Whitefield, Nagavara, Krishnarajapuram Hobli are the most prominent micro-markets in the city, together accounting for 51 per cent of the total area absorbed by GCCs in FY2025. Emerging micro-markets such as Yelahanka, Devanahalli, and Hebbal are gaining traction, positioning themselves as key growth hubs for future GCC investments.
Future expansion
Global corporations such as Carl Zeiss AG, which set up its GCC in November 2024, plans to double its local workforce to 5,000 in the next three years. Cargill plans to expand its local workforce by 500 in the next two to three years. Delta Electronics is planning to open its largest R&D centre and relocate its headquarters to Bengaluru. It also plans to double its India workforce to 6,500 within the next five years. RTX Corp is set to expand its Indian workforce by 14 per cent, adding 1,000 jobs by 2027.
A new GCC policy announced by the government for 2024-29 is expected to further boost the growth of GCCs in the state. The government focuses on forming an ecosystem to create an independent growth cycle for GCCs. It incentivises skilling of local talent, boosts existing local ecosystem for innovation, research, and technology, provides additional incentives to set up GCCs beyond Bengaluru, and simplifies the regulatory framework.
The state government aims to establish a global innovation district and add another 500 GCCs by 2029.