The landscape of Tier II and Tier III cities in southern India is changing. They are becoming the centre of the upcoming wave, comprising new global capability centres and IT services hubs. Such cities are no longer the outskirts of the services narrative of India’s growing economy. However, to convert this potential, the development of readily hireable talent must be a conscious goal of State education systems. Regional governments must make sure that these cities become more attractive to investors.

We had a discussion the other day, in partnership with the $20-billion global financial technology company Fiserv, on how India’s GCCs are emerging as engines of innovation and leadership. Fiserv itself has a massive GCC in India, which hosts half of its global tech and operations employee base. Our discussion was with Fiserv’s global services president, Sachin Kulkarni, and Nasscom’s chief strategy officer, Sangeeta Gupta.

At The Economic Times GCC Annual Conclave 2025, leaders from 3M, Kimberly-Clark, Garfield Health Solutions, BlackHawk Network and TransUnion examined why GCCs must shed their long-running tech-island mindset to build globally aligned, platform-first operating models.

7-Eleven’s Global Solution Center (GSC) in Bengaluru has expanded its workforce nearly ninefold over the past five years, growing its employee headcount from about 100 employees in 2020 to over 900 this year.The facility is the multinational firm’s only center in India.