Sushant Bhushan,
India Business Center,
Circle K,
India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are no longer quiet cost centres operating in the background. They have evolved into strategic hubs that deliver high-impact innovation, fast-track digital transformation, and build enterprise resilience. With over 1,700 GCCs employing more than 1.66 million professionals across India, their scale and sophistication are impossible to ignore.
For CXOs, the question is no longer why to invest in Indian GCCs—but how to unlock their full potential for sustained business outcomes.
Beyond Cost Arbitrage: The Rise of Strategic GCCs
GCCs in India initially showed up to optimise operations and reduce costs for global firms. Through the 2000s, the dominant model was transactional and back-office heavy—IT support, HR processing, and basic finance functions.
That has fundamentally changed.
Today, over 45% of India-based GCCs are involved in product development and innovation. They now drive digital revenue, influence core IP, and support high-stakes R&D functions. Several GCCs in sectors like BFSI and MedTech have become deeply integrated with global transformation mandates.
Innovation at the Core: The New Operating Reality
There’s been a noticeable shift in how headquarters perceive Indian GCCs. No longer limited to operational delivery, these centres now own digital capabilities and innovation roadmaps.
Some organizations have set up in-country CTO and CIO roles within their Indian GCCs to lead product mandates and strategic growth initiatives. Meanwhile, a majority of Indian GCCs have instituted formal innovation charters, focused on outcomes like patent creation, customer co-development, and open innovation.
This evolution highlights a new reality: India is home to GCCs that are trusted to own outcomes, drive innovation, and lead critical product mandates.
What’s Driving This Innovation-Led Transition?
1. Leadership Maturity and Talent Depth
India’s talent pool is no longer just technically proficient—it’s globally fluent. Senior GCC leaders today bring international experience and strategic thinking, many returning from global stints with a product-first mindset.
This leadership maturity has helped GCCs align closely with business units, participate in global governance, and own end-to-end product responsibilities.
2. Collaboration With the Innovation Ecosystem
Indian GCCs are co-developing IP with startups, research labs, and academic institutions. These collaborations foster experimentation, reduce development time, and drive real-world impact across industries.
3. Infrastructure and Regulatory Support
India’s expanding digital infrastructure has been a strong enabler. Scalable cloud platforms are helping GCCs deliver AI, IoT, and edge computing products globally. New data protection regulations have also built trust and enhanced compliance for global operations.
4. Value-Driven GCCs
Today’s GCCs are built not just for delivery, but for value creation. Their mandate has expanded to include direct contributions to innovation, revenue generation, customer experience, and enterprise agility.
By prioritizing value creation over task execution, GCCs have repositioned themselves as transformation engines—partnering with global HQs to drive co-innovation, shape customer journeys, and unlock competitive advantage.
From Strategy to Outcome: The Real Impact
This evolution isn’t just theoretical—it’s yielding tangible results. GCCs are now directly influencing business outcomes across multiple dimensions, and the evidence is clear:
What Indian Leaders Must Rethink
The global mindset around GCCs has shifted—India’s internal view must evolve too.
The Long-Term Outlook: India’s GCCs as Global Business Builders
India’s GCCs have quietly become engines of transformation. These value driven hubs are owning strategic mandates and influencing global innovation.
From fintech and mobility to climate tech and AI, Indian GCCs are value-driven enablers of business resilience and growth.
The leaders who recognize this transition and build strategy around it—will future-proof their organizations in a world where innovation defines market leadership.
The Journey into Industry
Sushant Bhushan is an accomplished Global Capability Center (GCC) leader with a strong track record in building, scaling, and transforming high-performing centers that deliver measurable business value. Currently leading the India Business Center at Circle K, he is spearheading the growth of global capabilities in India while aligning them with the company’s long-term strategic priorities.
With deep expertise in operations, transformation, and cross-functional leadership, Sushant has consistently driven innovation, operational efficiency, and integration between global and local teams. His leadership has played a pivotal role in optimizing service delivery, enhancing collaboration, and embedding excellence across functions.
Sushant is known for nurturing high-impact teams and cultivating a culture of ownership, agility, and continuous improvement. His people-centric leadership style focuses on empowering talent, enabling career growth, and building future-ready capabilities across global organizations.
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