PE-backed firms driving GCC expansion into Tier II cities

ANSR, India’s GCC landscape is undergoing a structural shift as enterprises increasingly expand beyond traditional metro hubs into Tier II locations such as Coimbatore, Indore, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Lucknow and Visakhapatnam.

India currently hosts over 1,900 GCCs employing more than 2.1 million professionals and contributing over 1.5 per cent to the country’s GDP. Emerging cities already account for more than 220 GCC units and are growing at nearly 11 per cent CAGR, the report noted.

According to ANSR, PE-backed enterprises are playing an outsized role in this transition as they prioritise faster scalability, operational efficiency and distributed delivery models.

The report identified six major drivers behind the shift, including rising talent saturation in Tier I cities, lower operating costs, improving infrastructure, state-backed GCC policies and the growing impact of AI in reducing dependence on concentrated talent hubs.

Emerging cities are witnessing 42 per cent growth in GCC job openings compared with 19 per cent growth in metro hubs.

“Emerging cities are no longer alternatives to Tier I metros. They are strategic complements within a more resilient and diversified operating model,” said Smitha Hemmigae, managing director at ANSR.

The report evaluated 14 emerging GCC locations across talent availability, infrastructure readiness, business environment and quality of life. Coimbatore was highlighted as a fast-growing engineering and manufacturing GCC hub with access to over 300,000 experienced professionals, while Jaipur and Indore were identified as rapidly evolving technology and digital services destinations supported by proactive state policies.

Bhubaneswar and Kochi were cited for their lower operational costs and improving digital infrastructure, while GIFT City stood out as India’s only International Financial Services Centre-backed GCC destination.