India’s‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌ GCC Sector Set for Strong AI-Led Expansion, Workforce to Reach 3.46 Million by 2030

17 November 2025: The global capability centers of India are moving towards a definitive phase of AI-led change with a large number of full-scale implementations and consequently a steep rise in recruitment. An industry report based on this trend states that the GCC workforce will grow by 11 per cent to reach 2.4 million by 2026 and will become as large as 3.46 million by 2030.

Workforce to Add 1.3 Million New AI-Era Jobs

The study shows that the globally-skilled India workforce in the GCC sector will be massively expanded with an additional 1.3 million new roles by the decade’s end. The report points out that the significant transition from AI trials to actual projects has substantially increased the demand for highly skilled professionals in the technology and digital functions.

Industry leaders emphasize that India is at a turning point in its GCC 4.0 journey where the factors of scale, skills, and abundant talent pools are coming together to support global enterprises. The year has seen this drive getting stronger as more and more companies decide to move past mere pilot projects and integrate AI into their main ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌operations.

Rise of New-Era AI Roles as Traditional Functions Decline

It also points to a very significant change in employee hierarchy due to the maturing of AI adoption in the workforce. This means a high demand for new-era roles development of generative AI products, AI governance and cybersecurity, advanced prompt engineering, and strategic risk frameworks. At the same time, numerous legacy technology roles have already begun to decrease in number as GCCs are substituting the traditionally supported structures with AI-native, product-centric models that indicate a clear turn toward high-value digital skills.

Metropolitans Are no Longer the Only Focus of the GCC Sector.

The expansion of the GCCs is not only limited to the metropolitan centers of the country but will additionally reach tier II as well as III cities that are becoming strong talent and cost-efficient alternatives to the country’s metro centers. As reported, these cities offer good attrition rates, office leasing at lower prices, and significant salary competitiveness that is leading the companies to extend their delivery presence in these cities. Close to 39% of India’s GCC workforce will be residing in the thus formed regions by 2030. cities like Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Bhubaneswar are rapidly transforming into specialized delivery hubs and are thus expected to provide the total of net new jobs surpassing 715,000 in the next few years.

Study Based on Nationwide Leadership Inputs

The results represent the views of 321 GCC leaders from six cities and ten sectors collected over the four months research period (July-October 2025). The mixed-method approach captures the ongoing transformation in operating strategies, talent priorities, organizational structures, and ecosystems that enterprises face when moving from execution-driven models to innovation-led, AI-native frameworks.

India’s GCC Evolution Reaches Its Most Defining Phase

With the faster pace of AI adoption and GCCs becoming more accountable as well as innovation-focused, India is not losing its position as the global technology leader but instead, is consolidating it further. The change to high-skill digital roles, in parallel with the growth of regional hubs, is setting the stage for the new era of capability development which eventually will alter the dynamics of the Indian GCC landscape till ‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‍‍‌2030.

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