Demand isn’t disappearing, it’s evolving: India’s GCC Tech Talent Landscape 2024 Report

• Generative AI, Platform Engineering, and Cybersecurity lead high-growth tech roles with up to 32% annual growth
• Bengaluru dominates strategic hiring in Defense, BFSI, and Construction; Hyderabad surges in Healthcare and AI-led roles

Bengaluru: Quess IT Staffing, India`s largest technology staffing firm, today launched the India`s GCC Tech Talent Landscape 2024 Report, offering a strategic view into the evolving dynamics of Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Analysing over 300,000 aggregated data-points in the last year, this report explores India`s rise from a delivery destination to a nucleus of innovation, powered by AI, cloud-native infrastructure, and cybersecurity, highlighting pivotal shifts in hiring, skill demand, and compensation trends across GCC`s in India. The report underscores India`s accelerating momentum as the world`s top talent hub, driven by advanced digital transformation, AI adoption, and cloud evolution.

India is now home to over 1,800+ GCCs, with 120+ new centers launched in 2024, reflecting a 17% YoY workforce growth and 1.8 lakh new jobs added.

The report reveals an exponential surge in demand for next-gen skills, with Generative AI witnessing 32% annual growth, especially across BFSI and retail sectors. Other high-growth sectors include:

• Platform Engineering & SRE – 26%
• UI/UX Design – 25%
• Cloud & Infrastructure Engineering – 14%

India`s GCCs are no longer just delivery hubs”they are innovation powerhouses. The pivot toward AI-first, cloud-native, and cyber-resilient ecosystems marks a strategic inflection point for the industry. We foresee talent investments focusing on capability depth, building capacity, digital-first mindsets, and Tier-2 city expansion.

As organizations shift to capability-driven talent models, there is emphasis on a growing demand-supply gap in emerging tech roles, alongside rising compensation premiums for niche skills. Roles in GenAI, FinOps, and Zero Trust are redefining hiring priorities, while Tier-2 cities emerge as critical growth engines. Demand isn`t disappearing. It`s evolving! Our insights equip business leaders with the clarity needed to stay ahead of disruption and stresses a need for building capability for a future-ready, resilient workforce,. said Kapil Joshi, CEO, Quess IT Staffing.

• Bengaluru leads strategic hiring with 61% in Defence & Aerospace and 35% in BFSI.
• Hyderabad is the preferred hub for Healthcare & Pharma GCCs (41%) and emerging AI talent.
• Pune shows strength in Manufacturing (24%), while NCR leads in compliance, telecom, and real estate domains.

Key sectors driving demand include BFSI, Retail & Ecommerce, Telecom, and Manufacturing, all of which are rapidly deploying AI, Cloud, and IoT at scale.

With increasing focus on cost agility and talent diversification, GCCs are expanding into Tier-2 cities like Kochi, Coimbatore, Indore, and Jaipur, targeting operations-led and mid-tier engineering roles. These locations are gaining traction for domain-specific talent, particularly in GRC, Cloud Support, and MedTech.

Despite a booming ecosystem, the report flags notable supply gaps in roles like:

• Cloud FinOps Specialists – 45% gap
• AI Observability Engineers – 35%
• Blockchain Developers – 30%

Compensation is following suit, with AI & Data Science engineers now commanding 25-40% salary premiums. Cloud Security, Zero Trust, and FinOps roles also see up to 50% higher pay due to scarcity and global competition.

Future Outlook

The India GCC market is poised to lead global enterprise transformation. By 2030, India`s GCC market is projected to grow to $99-105 billion, with a workforce exceeding 2.4 million professionals.