India has emerged as a major innovation hub with developers saying global capacity centres (GCCs) account for about half the fresh quality office property inventory in the country. Between Q1 2023 and Q4 2024, 124 new companies transacted GCC deals and took up office space for greenfield capability or R&D centres, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a global property consultancy firm. Almost two-thirds of them were from the United States. For most of them, India is now the biggest office hub. “India has, over the years, developed a competent and hard working talent pool which is available in abundance and at lower costs compared to the developed economies. Global companies are elegantly leveraging this. And also leveraging on global quality Grade A++ solutions available in India also at a fraction of the costs compared to developed economies,” said Sriram Khattar, managing director, DLF Rental Business. Khattar said that commercial real estate demand from global capability centres will grow for high quality developments.”India has emerged as a global leader in the evolution of GCCs, transitioning from traditional back-office operations to strategic hubs driving innovation, digital transformation, and business excellence. This shift is fuelled by India’s unparalleled talent pool and its dynamic innovation ecosystem,” said Alok Aggarwal, MD and CEO, Brookfield Properties in India. More than 15 million square feet of the company’s 55-million-square-foot portfolio hosts GCCs.Small and mid-sized new companies accounted for a large share of GCC transactions between Q1 2023 – Q2 2024. Over Q1 2023 – Q2 2024, 55 out of the 124 new GCC companies (44% share) that transacted GCC deals had annual revenue less than $ 1 billion.”India is helping multinational firms drive growth and deliver on strategic goals by emerging as a global innovation centre and R&D hub,” said Anshul Jain, chief executive – India, SE Asia & APAC Tenant Representation Services for Cushman & Wakefield. “Today, in global plans, India has recast itself from purely delivering cost benefits and back-office services to driving innovation and growth pipeline. Moreover, it’s not just the Fortune 500 firms expanding their GCCs in India; a significant proportion of new entrants are smaller multinationals recognising the strategic value of an Indian presence,” Jain said.