Around 65% of all new mid-market GCCs in India since 2023 have been set up in Karnataka as per the report.
Karnataka houses more than 50% of the mid-market GCCs in India, employing over 74,000 professionals, finds a new report released by the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), in collaboration with global management consulting firm Zinnov.
According to the report titled “Karnataka Mid-Market GCC Report 2025: Lean, Local, and Globally Impactful,” the State hosts more than 230 of the 480+ mid-market GCCs in the country. These centers are not just expanding faster; they are maturing 1.4 times quicker than larger peers, embracing product ownership, CXO-level leadership, and embedding AI-first strategies, the report notes.
Riding on talent
Mid-market GCCs are Global Capability Centres established by mid-sized enterprises with annual global revenues ranging between $100 million and $1 billion. According to the report, these firms scale faster and with greater control in Karnataka, enabled by plug-and-play infrastructure, payroll incentives, and simplicity of the government policies. Karnataka was the first in the country to roll out a GCC policy in 2024.
The report also notes that the State captured a disproportionately high share of new mid-market GCCs over the past two years. Around 65% of all new mid-market GCCs in India since 2023 have been set up in Karnataka.
Karnataka houses more than 50% of the mid-market GCCs in India, employing over 74,000 professionals, finds a new report released by the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), in collaboration with global management consulting firm Zinnov.
According to the report titled “Karnataka Mid-Market GCC Report 2025: Lean, Local, and Globally Impactful,” the State hosts more than 230 of the 480+ mid-market GCCs in the country. These centers are not just expanding faster; they are maturing 1.4 times quicker than larger peers, embracing product ownership, CXO-level leadership, and embedding AI-first strategies, the report notes.
Riding on talent
Mid-market GCCs are Global Capability Centres established by mid-sized enterprises with annual global revenues ranging between $100 million and $1 billion. According to the report, these firms scale faster and with greater control in Karnataka, enabled by plug-and-play infrastructure, payroll incentives, and simplicity of the government policies. Karnataka was the first in the country to roll out a GCC policy in 2024.
The report also notes that the State captured a disproportionately high share of new mid-market GCCs over the past two years. Around 65% of all new mid-market GCCs in India since 2023 have been set up in Karnataka.
“Higher talent quality in the State allows Mid-market GCCs to operate with leaner teams — driving more productivity per employee and reducing overall cost of operations,” reads the report.
While mid-market GCCs in India operate at 40% the size of non-mid-market peers, in Karnataka, the trend is amplified with the mid-market GCCs running at 35% the size of the larger peers. This, according to the report, is a reflection of ‘high-trust and high-quality talent.’ The State is currently home to 50% of India’s AI/ML talent and 38% digital workforce, and its capital city, the fourth largest technology and innovation cluster in the world, it notes.
Katalyst handbook released
The report was launched in the presence of Minister of Electronics, Information Technology & Biotechnology Priyank Kharge and officials from the IT-BT department and KDEM. The event saw the release of the KATALYST GCC Handbook, a comprehensive guide for companies that wish to set up GCCs in Karnataka. KATALYST is a dedicated Ease of Doing Business cell formed by the Department of Electronics, IT & BT in August to support GCCs in Karnataka.
Noting that 65% of all the new mid-market GCCs in India since 2023 established in their offices in Karnataka, Mr. Kharge hoped that the release of the handbook would help the ecosystem to ensure that more software is coming to India.
Addressing the industry representatives gathered at the event he said, “If the government participates closely with the industry, we will be able to ensure that we deliver faster for you. That is why we have launched Katalyst, a single entity which will have a specialized team to facilitate new GCCs to set up, investor handholding, and also provide ongoing support for existing GCCs.”
source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)