New Delhi: India is strengthening its position as a global hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), with more than 100 Japanese companies now operating centres in the country that account for nearly 5-6% of India’s overall GCC ecosystem, according to a Deloitte India report titled India’s Strategic GCC Play for Japanese Enterprises, released on Friday.
The report said Japan has become the largest contributor to India’s GCC ecosystem among Asia Pacific (APAC) countries, with companies increasingly using India for high-value engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), product development and digital innovation rather than traditional back-office operations.
Japanese GCCs are now expanding into product research and development (R&D), AI, engineering, cloud, fintech, embedded systems, advanced analytics and digital manufacturing, reflecting India’s growing strategic role in global capability networks.
Rohan Lobo, Partner and GCC Industry Leader, Deloitte India, said, “India and Japan are entering a new phase of economic collaboration anchored in innovation, technology and long-term value creation. As Japanese enterprises expand their global capability networks, India is emerging as a strategic hub for Japan that combines scale, engineering talent and digital expertise.”
“As digital and engineering mandates scale, these GCCs will unlock an estimated US$470–600 billion in economic impact by FY2030, contribute up to 2.8% to GDP, and create millions of high-skilled jobs—positioning India at the centre of global capability networks,” he added.
The report said India’s GCC industry is expected to generate a net economic impact of US$470-600 billion by FY2030, contributing 2.2% to 2.8% to the country’s GDP while creating an estimated 20 to 25 million jobs.
It also highlighted that Japanese GCCs have a strong engineering-led sectoral mix, with technology accounting for 20% of the centres, followed by industrials at 15%, while automotive and healthcare contribute 1% each.
Keerthi Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India, said, “Japanese GCCs in India reflect a strong sectoral focus on engineering-led industries, with technology (20%), industrials (15%) and automotive and healthcare (11% each) forming the core of the footprint. This highlights how Japanese companies are tapping into the Indian engineering ecosystem that goes beyond talent and symbiotically. India is expected to benefit from world-renowned Japanese engineering practices.”
According to the report, GCCs are evolving from support centres into multidisciplinary hubs driving end-to-end product development, innovation and enterprise resilience.
Japan’s demographic challenge and digital transformation priorities are further accelerating this shift by increasing reliance on India’s deep STEM talent pool.
The next phase of expansion is also spreading beyond traditional technology hubs, with Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Kochi and Indore emerging as preferred GCC destinations due to competitive costs, specialised talent and supportive state government policies.
Deloitte said the momentum is being reinforced by stronger India-Japan economic ties, including Japan’s JPY10 trillion (around US$68 billion) investment commitment, digital partnership initiatives and industrial collaboration frameworks. The report added that Japan is expected to remain one of the biggest growth drivers for the GCC ecosystem across the Asia-Pacific region in the coming years.