India’s GCCs could add 10–14 lakh jobs by 2031 as AI reshapes roles: Embark report
Established centres are expected to drive 80% of workforce additions, while demand shifts towards specialist talent and offices designed for collaboration, security and complex work.
Aravind Maiya, CEO and co-founder of Embark, said India’s opportunity lay in converting AI adoption into measurable business value as GCCs evolved from delivery centres into strategic capability hubs.
BENGALURU: India’s global capability centres could add 10–14 lakh net jobs by 2031, taking their combined workforce to 33–37 lakh and generating demand for an additional 150–170 million sq. ft. of office space, according to an Embark report.
The report, India GCCs in the AI Era: Implications for Workforce Growth and Office Demand, released on October 23, draws on a survey of 100 India GCC leaders, executive interviews and market data. It projects continued employment growth alongside changes in workforce composition as artificial intelligence adoption expands.
Automation, slower replacement hiring and role consolidation could moderate demand for routine positions by four–five lakh roles, the report estimates. However, expansion of existing operations, new centres and AI-related job creation are expected to more than offset that impact.
Established GCCs are projected to account for around 80% of incremental workforce additions as they assume responsibility for entire functions, products, platforms and business outcomes.
Among surveyed leaders, 71% expected their centres to take on broader functional ownership, while 15% anticipated global leadership roles moving to India.
Although 92% reported moving beyond selective AI adoption, realised productivity gains remained below 15%, according to the report. Data readiness, workflow redesign, governance, employee preparedness and credible measurement of business value were identified as barriers to wider deployment.
Demand is expected to strengthen for skills in AI, data, platform engineering, cybersecurity, solution architecture and domain-specific work. The report estimates that India’s AI-specialist talent pool could reach eight–nine lakh by 2031.
Aravind Maiya, CEO and co-founder of Embark, said India’s opportunity lay in converting AI adoption into measurable business value as GCCs evolved from delivery centres into strategic capability hubs.
The report projects 590–640 new GCC establishments by 2031, with approximately 90% expected in Tier 1 cities. Bengaluru and Hyderabad currently account for 67% of Tier 1 GCC leasing, it said.
Smaller cities are expected to attract targeted operations through hub-and-spoke models, supporting access to specialised talent, cost-sensitive delivery and operational resilience. Mid-market companies could account for around 28% of new centres, aided by smaller entry models employing five–100 specialists.
Office requirements are also expected to change. Collaboration and shared spaces could increase from 27% to 55% of workplace allocation by 2031, reflecting hybrid attendance patterns and demand for specialist infrastructure.
Banking, financial services and insurance, together with technology, media and telecommunications, are expected to account for about 54% of incremental office demand.
Embark, which provides GCC establishment and expansion services with workplace and infrastructure backing from Embassy Group, said the projections pointed to growing demand for secure, customised premises and flexible expansion options.
