GCCs in India ramp up GenAI and niche hiring as end-to-end ownership grows: EY report

India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are transitioning swiftly from initial experiments to extensive implementation of AI technologies, particularly in the areas of Agentic and Generative AI, as highlighted in the EY India GCC Pulse Survey 2025. A significant 58% of these centres are currently investing in Agentic AI, with an additional 29% planning to scale their efforts within the next year. GCCs are strategically applying Generative AI across various sectors, with customer service leading at 65%, followed by finance at 53%, operations at 49%, and IT and cybersecurity at 45%. Additionally, there has been a notable increase in business intelligence usage, which rose to 86% from 80% last year, while the adoption of data strategies surged to 67%, up from 51%. The report indicates that Indian GCCs have become pivotal in global decision-making processes. More than half (52%) share responsibility for major global decisions, and 26% are formally consulted on such matters. Approximately 20% are nearing full management of specific functions from India. Strategic roles within these centres are also on the rise, with 45% now influencing global strategy and 35% contributing to the development of leadership pipelines. Manoj Marwah, Partner and GCC Sector Leader for Financial Services at EY India, remarked, “Our survey indicates that this transition is well underway at GCCs in India. The unique combination of talent, cross-functional expertise, and an evolving AI landscape provides global firms with capabilities that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.” Arindam Sen, Partner and GCC Sector Leader for Technology, Media, Entertainment, and Telecommunications at EY India, noted the shift from mere curiosity to commercialization in the AI landscape. GCCs are now focusing on scaling their data and technology capabilities, enhancing service models, and reducing costs, with 61% prioritizing these objectives while also addressing talent requirements (51%). Budget allocations reflect this strategic focus, with 25% directed towards technology and transformation initiatives, and 23% aimed at talent development. An impressive 92% of GCCs aspire to deliver value beyond mere cost savings, while 87% plan to oversee comprehensive global business processes. Although in-house operations continue to dominate at 84%, outsourcing has increased to 12%, rising from 8% last year. Talent acquisition strategies are evolving, with 71% of GCCs concentrating on reskilling initiatives and 70% on tech-driven growth. Specialized hiring is gaining traction, with 63% of centres actively engaging in this practice, and 81% training their teams in Generative AI. Key skill priorities now include deep domain expertise (66%), AI/ML (63%), and data engineering (54%), indicating a departure from conventional roles. Attrition rates have consistently declined, from 13% in 2023 to 11% in 2024, and now to 9% in 2025. However, cybersecurity remains a pressing issue, as only 7% of GCCs have a fully established Centre of Excellence. Nonetheless, monitoring of third-party data access has improved significantly, rising from 44% in 2024 to 60% this year. On the regulatory front, transfer pricing continues to be the top challenge for 63% of respondents. While concerns surrounding SEZ and STPI regulations (22%), labor laws (20%), currency repatriation (17%), and double taxation (10%) have slightly eased, issues related to compliance complexity and data privacy have escalated to 42%, increasing from 32% last year.