India's GCCs could add up to 1.4 million jobs by 2031: Embark report

India's global capability centres (GCCs), the in-house technology and operations hubs that multinational companies run in the country, could add between 1 million and 1.4 million net new jobs by 2031 even as artificial intelligence cuts demand for routine roles, according to a report released on October 23, 2026, by Embark. The report, titled India GCCs in the AI Era: Implications for Workforce Growth and Office Demand, projects GCC headcount rising from about 2.3 million today to between 3.3 million and 3.7 million by 2031, and estimates the expansion will need 150 to 170 million square feet of new office space.

GCCs have become one of the biggest sources of well-paid technology jobs in India. Unlike outsourcing firms, which do work for many clients, a GCC belongs to a single multinational, a bank, a carmaker, a retailer or a software company, and does work for its parent: building software, running data and analytics, handling finance or cyber-security. Over the years many of these centres have moved from back-office support to owning whole products and functions.

The central question for job seekers is what AI does to that growth. The report's answer is mixed but, on balance, positive. It expects some routine work, the kind of repetitive processing that AI tools can now handle, to shrink by up to half a million roles. But it expects far more jobs to come from centres taking on bigger responsibilities and from new companies setting up in India, along with around 300,000 roles that exist only because of AI, such as building, testing and managing AI systems. The finding that productivity gains so far are under 15% suggests companies are still early in learning how to use AI, which may slow both the job losses and the gains.

The survey also points to a shift in where decisions are made. According to the report, 71% of leaders expect their India centres to take wider ownership of business functions, and 15% expect global leadership roles to move to India. For mid-career professionals, that means more chances of senior roles without moving abroad.

For students and early-career workers, the message is about skills. The roles most at risk are routine ones; the roles growing are those that combine domain knowledge, in finance, engineering or healthcare, for instance, with the ability to work alongside AI tools. The report's estimate of up to 900,000 AI specialists by 2031 shows where demand is heading.

Short-term: Hiring by GCCs is likely to keep favouring people with AI, data and cloud skills, while routine processing roles face slower hiring.

Long-term: If the projections hold, GCCs will remain a major engine of white-collar employment and office construction in Indian cities, with more senior global roles based in India.

Who is affected: Technology graduates and professionals, workers in routine back-office roles, multinational companies with Indian centres, commercial real-estate developers, and city planners in GCC hubs.

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