India's GCC Leasing Reaches New Heights: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune Lead the Way
Leasing by India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) reached a record 31.3 million square feet in 2025, marking a significant shift in how multinational corporations are embedding India into their global operating models. According to the latest GCC Office Guide by real estate services company JLL, over the past two years alone, more than 200 new GCCs have entered India, taking the total operational footprint past 263 million sq ft of Grade A office space. It is projected to cross 350 million sq ft over the next three to four years. GCCs now account for nearly 40% of India’s total office leasing over the last decade, making them the single largest structural demand driver in commercial real estate.
US-headquartered firms accounted for roughly 70% of GCC leasing demand between 2018 and 2025. The GCC ecosystem now employs over 1.9 million professionals and represents a market valued at about $65 billion, projected to grow at a 10.2% compound annual growth rate through 2030.
Bengaluru retains its leadership in the GCC expansion, with a 34–39% market share and more than 900 GCC units. The city benefits from a deep pool of technology talent, a mature startup ecosystem, and established Grade A office clusters. Hyderabad has emerged as a strong second, with a 20–23% share, attracting industries such as healthcare, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductor design, in addition to analytics and IT mandates. Pune, with a 15–20% share, has strengthened its positioning in BFSI, automotive engineering, and ER&D mandates, leveraging its industrial heritage and lower operating costs compared to Bengaluru.
In Chennai, demand remained steady since 2023, supported by manufacturing and mobility-linked GCCs. Meanwhile, Delhi NCR has consolidated its role in consulting, corporate services, and fintech mandates. India's financial capital, Mumbai, remains constrained by higher real estate costs but continues to attract strategic BFSI capability centres.
Samantak Das, Chief Economist and Head of Research at JLL, noted that the evolution reflects structural maturity rather than cyclical expansion. According to him, GCCs are increasingly owning end-to-end mandates spanning R&D, AI/ML, product lifecycle management, and even global P&L responsibilities, fundamentally altering their strategic relevance.
The sectoral mix of GCC demand reveals a decisive broadening of India’s value proposition. Between 2023 and 2025, Engineering Research and Development (ER&D) emerged as the largest leasing segment, reflecting the growing tendency of global firms to anchor product innovation and hardware-software integration teams in India. BFSI registered one of the sharpest increases in share, driven by digital banking transformation, compliance analytics, and risk modelling functions. Healthcare and biotech mandates moved firmly into double-digit territory, particularly in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, as pharmaceutical and medtech majors scaled clinical data management and research operations. While technology remains foundational, it no longer dominates in isolation.
Even as Tier I cities dominate, companies are increasingly adopting a portfolio approach to location strategy. Secondary markets such as Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Mysuru, and Kochi are emerging as complementary hubs, offering 10–35% cost savings, lower wage inflation, and access to relatively untapped STEM talent pools. Large multinational corporations are also experimenting with hub-and-spoke models, situating leadership, innovation, and client-facing mandates in Bengaluru or Hyderabad while distributing operational and support functions to lower-cost cities. This multi-city architecture enhances business continuity, mitigates concentration risk, and supports long-term expansion without overheating primary markets.
Sustainability has become integral as a significant proportion of GCCs are targeting carbon neutrality by 2030, integrating renewable energy sourcing, green building standards, and ESG-linked reporting frameworks.
