1-Person GCCs Now Possible in India: ANSR CEO Lalit Ahuja
Over the past two decades, India has evolved from a back-office outsourcing hub to a strategic extension of global businesses and emerged as the powerhouse of global capability centres (GCCs). At the forefront of this transformation is ANSR, India’s leading enabler for GCCs, having partnered with over 130 enterprises to establish their centres in the country. While speaking with AIM, Lalit Ahuja, the CEO of ANSR, said that the opportunity for GCCs in India is even greater than anticipated, and the hockey stick growth is just around the corner. “We are at the end of the beginning. The foundations have been laid, and the next decade will see exponential growth,” Ahuja said. According to the Q3 GCC reports by ANSR, over 450 Forbes Global 2000 companies operate over 825 GCCs across the country, employing more than 1.3 million professionals. The report predicts that by 2030, India could host over 620 additional GCCs, representing over 32% of Forbes Global 2000 enterprises. India’s top six cities—Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR, Chennai, Pune, and Mumbai—host 95% of the country’s GCCs, with Bengaluru alone accounting for 40%. The city hosts over 285 companies and employs 5.6 lakh professionals. Hyderabad follows with over 110 GCCs and 1.90 lakh employees, attracting interest due to its infrastructure, talent availability, and business-friendly policies. How Are Tier 2 & 3 Cities Placed for GCCs “Today, GCCs are driving AI adoption, digital transformation, and modernising technology stacks,” Ahuja explained. GCCs are not just optimising costs but also solving critical business challenges, building R&D capabilities, and enabling product development. “It’s not just about talent availability. The entire ecosystem matters – real estate, infrastructure, tech parks, quality of life, and accessibility. These factors make Tier 1 cities ideal for GCCs,” he explained. Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities have potential, but they lack the social and business infrastructure required to attract and retain senior talent. Despite this, there is a rise of nano and micro GCCs in Tier 2 and 3 cities like Mangaluru, Mysuru, the Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi cluster, Kalaburagi, Tumakuru, and Shivamogga. Earlier, it was reported that the firm is enabling around two to five GCCs per month. Ahuja, however, said that those numbers would be understated for several reasons. “A lot of companies that are not thinking of a GCC will be forced to think about a GCC either driven by talent or cost or peer pressure.” Ahuja further said that if their competitors have already established a presence, they will also have to step in to avoid losing competitive advantage. He said that there is a bottomless opportunity segment which is the mid-market segment. “[There are] literally millions of companies that will now come and set up nano GCCs, micro GCCs, 10-people GCCs and 50-people GCCs because now size does not matter. Academically, you can be a one-person GCC and still be successful,” he added. What About Talent? While cost-effectiveness remains a key draw for companies establishing GCCs, the narrative has shifted toward value creation. While MNCs are considering Eastern European and other South Asian countries, India, with its large English-speaking population, remains the ideal choice for most of them. Going beyond technology, Ahuja said that some business functions, like a construction company, automobile company or life sciences company, will set up a GCC to do the core work. “The opportunity is ten times bigger than where the GCCs are.” However, companies are exploring hybrid models to balance costs and access diverse talent pools. Ahuja acknowledged that smaller cities may play a more significant role in the future as infrastructure improves and offers more safety and services. Citing Google’s recent promise to Visakhapatnam as an example, Ahuja said that this would enable more managerial roles in smaller GCCs than just development roles and also allow faster communication. This shift has also led to a more robust partnership model. GCCs are no longer ‘offshore’ operations but true extensions of their parent organisations. They play a pivotal role in decision-making, innovation, and executing global strategies. How Does ANSR Come into this Picture? “Initially, there was scepticism about whether GCCs could handle strategic, high-value work,” Ahuja shared. “Today, that debate is over. Strategic work stays with GCCs, while non-core activities are outsourced. Companies understand that GCCs are integral to their success.” Ahuja’s journey in the GCC space began in 2005 when he helped Target Corporation establish its first GCC in India. “At the time, there was no playbook for setting up GCCs,” Ahuja reflected. Fast forward to today, GCCs are no longer just cost-saving mechanisms. “Companies like Amazon have shown the world how technology can be a core differentiator,” said Ahuja. “This realisation led companies to rethink their approach and invest heavily in building technology capabilities.” GCCs now contribute nearly one-third of India’s IT sector, with 1,600 centres employing over 1.66 million professionals. They are the fastest-growing segment of India’s tech ecosystem. When it comes to providing this huge amount of talent, ANSR invested in building a community called Talent500, which has around 2.5 million people and includes roles from managers to rocket scientists. ANSR’s end-to-end service model is one of the key reasons behind it becoming synonymous with GCC success. From the inception of an idea to a fully operational GCC, ANSR handles every aspect of the process. “We start by helping companies design their GCC strategy,” Ahuja explained. This includes everything from legal compliance, payroll, and recruitment to running cafeterias and creating a seamless employee experience – like a one-stop solution.
GCCs now contribute nearly one-third of India’s IT sector, with 1,600 centres employing over 1.66 million professionals.
GCCs now contribute nearly one-third of India’s IT sector, with 1,600 centres employing over 1.66 million professionals.
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Mohit writes about AI in simple, explainable, and often funny words. He's especially passionate about chatting with those building AI for Bharat, with the occasional detour into AGI.