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Hyderabad and Bengaluru dominate India's Global Capability Centre (GCC) landscape, holding about 70% of leadership positions, according to Quess Corp's India's GCC-IT Talent Trends 2025 report. Hyderabad led growth with a 42% rise in requisitions and a 6-8% pay premium, while Bengaluru remained the largest talent base. Chennai excelled in finance and control roles with 94% retention, and Pune gained traction in analytics. Tier II cities such as Kochi and Indore serve as secondary support hubs. The report highlighted a 50% talent gap in generative AI and major shortages in cloud and security skills. Despite strong demand, hiring delays persist, signalling a shift toward capability-driven growth across India's GCC ecosystem.
According to Quess Corp's 'India's GCC-IT Talent Trends 2025: New Entrants Shaping India's Capability Evolution' report released earlier this week, Hyderabad and Bengaluru collectively hold around seven in ten leadership positions across India's GCCs. Hyderabad registered the highest requisition growth at 42% year-on-year and attracted a competitive premium of 6-8%, while Bengaluru remained the largest talent base, with a cost index 8-10% above the market average. Advertisement
Chennai has emerged as the preferred hub for finance, risk, and control-related work, maintaining retention levels of nearly 94%, the highest among Tier I cities. Pune is strengthening its presence in analytics and quality assurance, whereas Tier II cities such as Kochi, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, and Indore are functioning as secondary support centres activated once operational stability is achieved, the report noted.
The study, titled 'India New GCC Talent Trends 2025: From Capacity to Capability', is based on secondary research and observed a sharp talent shortage in emerging technology domains. Skills in generative AI and LLM engineering display an estimated 50% gap, while expertise in FinOps, Zero Trust security, Kubernetes, and Terraform face shortages ranging between 38% and 45%.
The report also revealed that the median time required to fill critical roles has risen to between 90 and 120 days, with offer-to-join ratios hovering between 68% and 72%. The shortage is most apparent in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, which has slowed project execution rather than leaving roles unfilled.
Kapil Joshi, CEO of IT Staffing at Quess Corp, mentioned that India's GCC ecosystem has shifted from capacity building to capability creation. He said that nearly half of new assignments now span AI, data, platform, cloud, and cybersecurity functions, as enterprises increasingly fund measurable outcomes rather than mere headcount. He added that Hyderabad and Bengaluru lead in leadership and design functions, while Tier II cities evolve as execution hubs once stability and governance are established. Time-to-fill and offer-to-join metrics have become core design indicators, reflecting a more efficient operational focus.
The Quess Corp report underscores the continuing dominance of Hyderabad and Bengaluru in India's GCC landscape, with both cities driving leadership and innovation while Tier II centres take on supportive execution roles. Despite this growth, an acute skills gap in advanced technologies remains a concern, slowing project delivery timelines and underscoring the growing need for capability-driven workforce strategies across India's evolving GCC ecosystem.
Source - PTI
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