In FY 24, India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) crossed a watershed moment: 1,700 centres, 1.9 million professionals, and $64.6 billion in export revenue - a nearly 40% increase over FY 23. What was once viewed largely as back-office outsourcing is now an indispensable part of global value chains. India is no longer just executing tasks; it is defining strategy, building products, steering innovation. These are the opening scenes in what could emerge as the defining corporate narrative of the decade.
GCCs’ Reinvention: More Than Just Cost Savings
When the panel at Forbes India Presents: The Data Circle – India’s Changemakers, in association with Snowflake, convened in Bengaluru, a clear consensus emerged - India’s GCCs have entered a new era of transformation
. What was once a support function has now evolved into a strategic engine of innovation and technology leadership.
Drawing from the world of consumer appliances, Vishal Srirama, India Head at BSH Global Digital Services, illustrated this shift vividly. He contrasted the era of home appliances that merely performed basic functions with today’s hyper-personalised, intelligent products. His team’s innovations - from oven lines that can fine-tune roast preferences to adaptive washing machines capable of assessing soil levels and water hardness - showcase how data and AI are redefining everyday functionality.
At Bosch Global Software Technologies, the focus is on scaling AI from controlled experiments to real-world, safety-grade applications. Ganesh Mahadevan, Chief Information & Digital Officer, explained how Bosch’s India operations are going beyond engineering to rearchitect core operating models around talent, data governance, and an “AI-first” mindset.
These efforts mark a decisive shift - from GCCs as back-end units to value multipliers within global enterprises. As Mahadevan summed it up, “We (GCCs) are the bridge of trust when you look at the organisation. We create value across the board - in software, in AI, and in shaping the future of the organisation. This is the value multiplier for now, next, and new.”
AI & GenAI: The New Frontier
All the panellists agreed that Generative AI (GenAI) is no longer optional or exploratory - it has become a strategic business imperative across industries.
At Societe Generale Global Solutions Centre, the focus has moved beyond pilots to scale. Its newly formed entity, SocGen AI, is driving large-scale AI deployment across client onboarding, back-office operations, regulatory compliance, and technology development. As Ranjit Santhakumar, Co-CEO of the Centre, noted, regulatory constraints are real but the urgency to integrate AI responsibly and effectively across verticals is non-negotiable.
Adding a platform perspective, Sujit Cheruvatath, Managing Director & Head – GCC Markets at Snowflake India, pointed to a shift in enterprise thinking: businesses are now bringing AI to data, not the other way around. Unified data platforms are enabling this change, moving AI from experimental projects to enterprise-wide adoption. Low-code and no-code tools are expanding the innovation base, yet, as Sujit cautioned, governance, model risk, and compliance including evolving global regulations like the EU AI Act must remain central.
In the consumer health space, innovation is taking on a deeply personal dimension. Rajesh Puneyani, VP – Technology & Site Leader, Kenvue India GCC, described how the company applies what it calls the “four Ps” framework - Preventive, Proactive, Predictive, and Personalisation - to shift from treatment-based approaches to proactive health enhancement. Through AI, IoT, and integrated data systems, Kenvue aims to anticipate health trajectories before issues arise.
Operational Acceleration & Factory Floors
Innovation is not just for the front end; it is embedded deep within the business core. Efficiency gains in operations and production are being driven by applied AI. Vishal Srirama of BSH Digital Services pointed out that in factories where AI and IoT integration are high, the product‐throughput time has roughly halved: from ~59 seconds down to ~29 seconds per unit. Computer vision tools are reducing dependence on human inspection; data from multiple systems is being synthesised to optimise machine time and raw material use and there is a strong push towards sustainability via bio-based materials, 3D modelling, and smarter design.
Ganesh Mahadevan of Bosch Global Software Technologies emphasised that India’s mandate for such capabilities cannot betray legacy obligations; hence he cautioned against differentiating between what is irreversible vs reversible while harnessing AI, maintaining human-in-loop where necessary, and aligning with global regulations such as the EU’s AI Act and data privacy laws.
Governance, Value & Metrics
As GCCs gain power, scrutiny rises and the key question that business and technology leaders are trying to answer is – ‘how to balance speed with control’?
- Bosch has adopted a “guardrails” framework: clear rules for what to do, what not to do, and criteria for reversibility.
- Societe Generale cites its AI Authority - an internal body that evaluates risk before models go into production and convergence on a shared AI engineering platform.
- Across organisations, return on value is measured not just in economic terms, but in efficiency and experience. Bosch calls theirs the “Triple E” framework: Experience, Efficiency, Economic value.
Bengaluru: The Growing Innovation Spotlight
All panellists saw Bengaluru not simply as a prime location but as a crucible where proximity to academia, startups, hyper-scalers, vendors, and highly skilled talent creates a multiplying effect.
- Collaborative hackathons, ideathons, co-creation are now close-by opportunities, not distant concepts.
- Partnerships with hyper-scalers, ISVs, and enterprises allow scale and access; internal programs such as Bosch’s “Fit for Future” are attempts to replicate startup-like agility within large organisations.
Looking Ahead: The 2030 Horizon
Envisioning the future and imagining what a flagship GCC innovation from Bengaluru may look like by 2030, Ganesh Mahadevan believes an “AI-first native organisation” is round the corner - not just adopting AI, but rearchitecting everything from value streams, people, business and functions around it. Ranjit Santhakumar anticipates intelligent business platforms emerging from the GCCs - digitally driven, insight-rich, extending the science of brand growth globally, from India. Sujit Cheruvatath expects that by 2030 the narrative will shift from being data-driven to AI-centric, that AI will become so embedded in operations, decision-making, product and customer interface, that it will cease to be distinct - it will simply be how things are done!
What This Means for C-Suite Leaders
- Strategic Pivot: GCCs must be seen not as cost arbitrage tools but as foundational pillars of enterprise strategy driving product innovation, brand differentiation and risk mitigation.
- Invest in Foundations: Robust data platforms, compliance, governance, talent frameworks are not overheads - they are investments in safety, scalability, and credibility.
- Measure Beyond the Obvious: Metrics must include efficiency gains, improved customer and employee experience, not just revenues.
- Embed AI Thoughtfully: With irreversibility comes responsibility. Human-in-loop systems, clear decision thresholds, reversibility must be core to any AI deployment.
- Leverage the Ecosystem: Being in Bengaluru, or India more broadly, comes with access to startups, academia, partner ecosystems. C-Suite must build alliances and co-optimise innovation networks.
The Takeaway: India GCCs are No Longer Followers
India’s GCC landscape is no longer content to perform. It's preparing to lead - from innovations in product hyper-personalisation to AI integrated into factories, from enterprise scale deployments in financial services to redefining health and wellness.
For corporate leaders, especially those on boards and executive committees, the message is clear: the writing is on the wall. If you are not elevating your GCCs from cost centres to hubs of value, you risk being left behind in what many call “a data-driven world,” but what will soon be unmistakably an “AI-centric world.”
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India’s GCCs have turned a page: they are no longer just operational arms; they are laboratories shaping tomorrow. For C-suite leaders, the question is no longer if investing in AI, data, innovation, governance is necessary but how fast and how wisely can they do it.
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