Govt working on national framework to drive GCC expansion into smaller cities: MeitY secretary
Hyderabad: The Union ministry of electronics & information technology (MeitY) is developing a national framework to accelerate the expansion of
global capability centres
(GCCs) across states, particularly in smaller cities,
MeitY
secretary S Krishnan said on Wednesday at the Nasscom GCC Summit in Hyderabad.
Krishnan highlighted the govt's focus on promoting GCC development in smaller cities, referencing successful programmes like Karnataka's 'Beyond Bengaluru' and Tamil Nadu's 'Tidal Neo' parks. He also pointed to successful GCC operations in Kochi, Coimbatore, and various locations in Rajasthan.
He said tier-2 and tier-3 cities provide notable benefits for GCCs, such as reduced operational expenses and improved staff retention, while emphasising that this initiative would not diminish existing major technology centres. "We cannot separate out and clearly make a demarcation saying this is a policy intended only for tier-2 and tier-3 cities," he said, pointing out that ease of doing business measures for GCCs would apply across India.
Regarding the GCC initiative, he said, "GCCs fundamentally are about increasing the number of higher quality jobs and improving job quality. These centres bring higher-order functions and tasks to India as part of the global value chain."
"More higher-order jobs of engineering, engineering R&D, product development and so on are coming into India…We believe it meets the aspirations of the youth and people looking for higher quality jobs. Ultimately, if they don't leave the country and work out of here, that also improves whatever is happening in the country because they then spend their salaries within the country and increase economic activity. Eventually, even entrepreneurship and innovation is very often born out of these GCCs," he added.
He said the ministry's approach involves creating a flexible framework instead of strict policies to encourage
GCC expansion
across states and the strategy aims to assist states in developing their own GCC attraction policies whilst ensuring coordination between central and state authorities.
Responding to industry regulatory concerns, he assured govt backing for innovation and business development. He said India's digital economy, which stood at 6-7% in 2023, is projected to increase from its current 12-13% to approximately 20% of the national economy by 2030. Regarding AI regulation, he confirmed the govt's commitment to avoid implementing regulations that might restrict innovation.
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