In a boost to Tamil Nadu’s GCC ambition, US pharmacy and healthcare giant Walgreens will establish its first Global Capability Centre in India in Chennai.
Walgreens India signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Friday at the Secretariat. The pact was signed between Deepak Jacob, MD & CEO, Guidance Tamil Nadu and Umapathy Viswanathan,GCC head, Walgreens in the presence of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and State Industries Minister S Keerthana.
The facility will be located at DLF Downtown Taramani, on the Old Mahabalipuram Road IT Corridor that the state has notified as a new GCC corridor. The government said the centre will initially generate over 250 high-value technology and operational roles, with phased expansion planned. The company and the government did not disclose the investment amount.
Walgreens, headquartered in Illinois and operating around 8,000 stores across the US and Puerto Rico, is one of America’s leading healthcare and pharmacy services networks serving millions of customers.
The signing comes after Chief Minister Vijay returned from his six-day UK investment tour and chaired two high-level review meetings. Industries Minister Keerthana, welcoming the deal on X, stated it reflects confidence in Tamil Nadu’s talent pool and digital ecosystem and will help develop critical technology and business capabilities from Chennai.
The move is seen as a move in the TVK government’s plan to develop three dedicated GCC corridors — Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam Radial Road, Mount-Poonamallee High Road and Rajiv Gandhi Salai — positioning Chennai as a key GCC hub to rival Bengaluru.
