It is true that India has no dearth of talent. And now, it seems there will be no dearth of opportunities either. Global capability centres or GCCs have grown to be innovation hubs and Global Value Organisations. Not only do they have access to the best of talent across diverse functional capabilities but they have evolved in terms of relevance and the value they deliver to the organisations that host them. Today, in addition to transactional activities, GCCs assist their parent companies to ensure value-driven business outcomes. Little wonder that companies across the life-sciences sector—where competition is tough and adaptability is the key to success—are setting up GCCs in pursuit of operational excellence.
Why does it make sense for talent in India to head towards GCCS?
Well, globally, GCCs are concentrated in four main regions — India, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America. India, of course, leads the list with 60 per cent of the GCCs housed here.
Of the top 50 life-sciences organisations, 23 have their GCCs in India and over 50 per cent of them have entered India in the 2020 to 2025 period, according to an EY report. Over the last five years there has been an increase in the number of new GCC in the country. After all, leaders worldwide are gearing up to confront the competition, regulatory scrutiny as well as the uncertainty that the coming decade holds.
The future is all about automation and artificial intelligence. These are areas that interest the younger generations. The big life-sciences brands are all looking to leverage Generative AI for drug design and data analysis to improve clinical-trial efficiency. The GCCs, therefore, are serving as transformation engines, especially in the areas of AI and automation. They are focusing on coming up with solutions to business problems and ways to improve internal processes. They are investing in enabling digital transformation across the enterprise. Quick wins are only encouraging them to scale up. Not surprisingly, foreign multinational pharmaceutical companies are also setting up their innovation centres and hubs here.
A 2024 EY GCC Pulse Survey reveals that 70 per cent of GCC leaders are investing in GenAI and Agentic AI, while 76 per cent are integrating their talent into global transformation initiatives. Additionally, these leaders are also being cautious, with 76 per cent investing in cybersecurity enhancements.
Realising that talent is not just a resource but a differentiator, GCCs are spending on specialised skills, such as digital health, scientific writing and data analytics.
Why wouldn’t talent make a beeline for GCCs, especially in the life sciences space?
Why is India such a magnet for GCCs?
Our country has the talent advantage. It offers what is probably the largest and most cost-effective pools of scientific, medical and digital talent. This is the very reason why India has come to be the backbone of global life sciences GCC operations. It offers sustained cost arbitrage along with sufficient scientific talent for core functions, modern infrastructure, as well as a mature ecosystem of startups and academia. The Central and state governments have begun to accept how strategically important GCCs are. In fact, policies have been put in place for GCCs, and incentives are being offered to facilitate their expansion.
The life sciences sector already employs over 2.7 million professionals and has a strong pipeline of over two million STEM graduates. Also, 1,10,000-plus graduates are added annually in medicine. With such a robust pipeline GCCs can afford to think about rapid scalability across not just clinical operations but regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance among others. In India, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai are preferred for establishing GCCs because of their high cost efficiency in terms of operations, coupled with the massive talent pool that makes scaling of operations a possibility.
Recognising GCCs as key drivers of digital exports and job creation, the Central government offers them incentives in the form of subsidies, simplified foreign investment policies/rules, easy clearances to enter, and facilities to support the GCC landscape in the country. Many state governments are also designing specific policies around GCCs, with incentives to draw them.
India also offers Contract Research Organisations (CROs) and academic institutions that can help support GCCs. There is a flourishing network of startup incubators and a number of unicorns to drive innovation. Add to this the availability of state-of-the-art infrastructure and commercial spaces with micro-markets in close proximity. The metros were always attractive locations and now Tier II/III cities are attracting GCCs with their cost efficiency and operational scalability too.