Indian Economy News

58% of India GCCs invest in Agentic AI as innovation roles widen: EY survey

India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are decisively transitioning from artificial intelligence experimentation to full-scale enterprise deployment, with 58% currently investing in Agentic AI and an additional 29% planning to scale within the next year, according to the EY GCC Pulse Survey 2025 released on November 23, 2025. The survey, which captured responses from leaders across multiple sectors between August and October 2025, reveals that India GCCs are evolving into strategic decision-making and innovation hubs for global enterprises, powered by rising Generative AI (GenAI) adoption, deeper digital maturity, and expanding mandates. An overwhelming 83% of GCCs are already investing in GenAI, with pilot programmes rising from 37% last year to 43% currently. Parallel upskilling initiatives have accelerated dramatically, with 81% of GCCs actively training internal teams on GenAI capabilities, indicating a comprehensive approach to capability building.
Innovation pipelines are maturing rapidly, with two-thirds (67%) of GCCs establishing dedicated innovation teams and incubation platforms to generate and globalise ideas from India. The survey notes a swift transition from pilot projects to enterprise-scale implementation, describing Agentic AI as the "next frontier" of intelligent automation. On the operating model front, 92% aim to deliver value beyond cost arbitrage, 87% plan to manage end-to-end global processes, and 84% continue in-house operations. GCCs are taking on leadership responsibilities traditionally held by headquarters, with 52% holding shared accountability for global decisions, 26% consulted regularly, and 20% moving toward full ownership of select global functions. However, challenges persist, and cybersecurity maturity remains moderate, with only 7% reporting a fully embedded Cyber Centre of Excellence. At the same time, workforce-related risks, including niche talent shortages, rising people costs, and retention pressures, dominate concerns. Transfer pricing is the top regulatory challenge at 63%, while compliance complexity and data privacy issues have risen to 42%. Despite these hurdles, the combination of talent, cross-functional maturity, and a rapidly advancing AI ecosystem positions India GCCs to create innovation arbitrage beyond mere cost advantage.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.