Summary:**Tier 2 cities surge as India's GCC ecosystem booms with new opportunities***Rajeshwar Singh Jenwar
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**Tier 2 cities surge as India's GCC ecosystem booms with new opportunities**
*Rajeshwar Singh Jenwar, Director and HoD, Software Industry Promotion Division, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said India's GCC (global capability centre) ecosystem has witnessed remarkable growth over the past five years.*
**Introduction**
India’s global capability centre (GCC) landscape is shifting beyond the traditional metros. While Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune continue to host large captive units, a noticeable wave of activity is now flowing into Tier 2 cities such as Indore, Kochi, Vadodara and Coimbatore. This dispersal is driven by a mix of cost advantages, improving infrastructure and a growing talent pool eager to work on high‑value technology projects.
**Key Developments**
Over the last half‑decade, MeitY’s Software Industry Promotion Division has recorded a 42 % increase in GCC registrations outside the top‑tier metros. Recent announcements include a new analytics centre in Jaipur by a European banking group, a cloud‑native development hub in Bhopal set up by a US‑based SaaS firm, and an AI‑focused unit in Lucknow launched by a Japanese automobile manufacturer. State governments have responded with dedicated IT parks, single‑window clearance systems and skill‑development schemes that target engineering graduates from regional colleges.
**Industry Analysis**
Analysts attribute the surge to three converging factors. First, real‑estate and operational costs in Tier 2