Tier-2 cities powering India’s next GCC growth wave, shows InCommon’s GCC Tier 2 Report 2025
Piyush Kedia and Roshan Shetty Co-founders of InCommon
Tier-2 share in GCC ecosystem rises to 7%; Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Kochi emerge as innovation clusters
India, December 11: InCommon on Thursday unveiled its GCC Tier 2 Report 2025, spotlighting the rapid rise of Tier-2 cities as the next major hubs for Global Capability Centers (GCCs). The report shows that Tier-2 locations have increased their share of India’s GCC ecosystem from 5% in 2019 to 7% in 2025, signalling a decisive shift in global enterprises’ expansion strategies.
India now hosts more than 1,700 active GCCs, with over 170 spread across 18 Tier-2 cities including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Indore, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur and Mysuru. Nearly two new GCCs are being established every week, underscoring sustained confidence in India’s diversified talent markets.
Tier-2 hubs are increasingly attracting high-value, technology-driven GCCs across AI and data engineering, platform and software development, product R&D, cloud technologies and cybersecurity. States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are driving this shift through targeted incentives and infrastructure investments designed to deepen enterprise footprints beyond metros.
“Tier-2 hubs are no longer secondary options—they are emerging as core innovation ecosystems for digital engineering and R&D,” said Piyush Kedia, co-founder and CEO of InCommon. “With a 25% lower cost base, 20–30% lower attrition and a rapidly expanding STEM talent pool, these cities are enabling organizations to scale faster while driving inclusive economic growth.”
The report highlights distinct regional strengths shaping the new GCC geography. Bhubaneswar and Vadodara are emerging as semiconductor and R&D clusters, while Kochi and Warangal are strengthening their digital, cloud and fintech engineering capabilities. Coimbatore, Indore and Ahmedabad are positioned as multi-sector innovation hubs supported by strong academic linkages and proactive state policies.
The study concludes that Tier-2 cities are now following the growth trajectory of Tier-1 hubs—this time strengthened by better policy alignment, deeper infrastructure readiness and learnings from the first wave of GCC expansion. This evolution is creating a more balanced, resilient and regionally inclusive GCC landscape that will shape India’s enterprise transformation over the next decade.
About InCommon
InCommon is a GCC operator supporting startups and mid-sized companies in building and managing their India teams end-to-end. Its model spans strategy, entity setup, hiring, operations and culture-building. Backed by Better Capital (pre-seed), InCommon operates out of Edgewater, New Jersey, and Pune, India.
