Surveys carried out by two leading consultancies have found that Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode are well suited to emerge as hubs of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) among the tier-2 cities in the country.
The Technopark in the state capital, Infopark in Kochi and Cyber Park in Kozhikode offer the best infrastructure required by GCCs, such as availability of land, connectivity, human resource pool with proper skill sets, lower operational cost and ready-to-plug-in built-up space, reveals Colliers India’s report on ‘Emerging Investment Opportunities in India.’
The survey chose these cities based on key parameters: physical infrastructure, social infrastructure, demographics and economic factors, and the real estate scenario.
Besides, connectivity and potential for real estate development give a strategic advantage to Thiruvananthapuram.
The report focuses on 30 growing cities of India in terms of physical, social, demographic and economic factors and analyses how these parameters lead to growth of real estate.
Emerging GCC hubs
A report by Delhi NCR-headquartered consulting and technology firm Inductus Limited attributes factors like land availability, proactive policies of the government and ease of doing business reforms make Thiruvananthapuram as one of the emerging GCC hubs.
The report titled ‘India: The Preferred Destination for GCCs said that the reasons for these cities evolving into innovation hubs are talent pool, ecosystem, connectivity, lower operational costs, low attrition rate, strong infrastructure development and supportive government policies.
About 50 per cent of Fortune Global 500 companies leverage India’s GCC Ecosystem for R&D and Innovation. It is projected to scale up to 70 per cent by 2030, the report said.
Technopark one of the largest and greenest IT ecosystem in the country, has 138.325 acres of vacant land on its Phase I, III and IV campuses. It is equipped with state-of-the-art workspaces with unique design, sustainability, and digital connectivity which are pivotal to attracting global players, said Col Sanjeev Nair (Retd), CEO, Technopark
GCCs have emerged as critical enablers in the modern business landscape, serving as strategic hubs that drive efficiency, innovation, and growth for multinational corporations. At present, GCCs in India accounts for about one per cent of the country’s GDP which is projected to grow to 3.2 per cent by 2027.
The National Framework for GCCs was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26.
Deloitte India in a recent study cited the country’s emergence as a hub for GCCs with more than 1,600 centres employing more than 1.5 million professionals and a projected market size of $110 billion by 2030.