India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated on Thursday that India aims to become a 'strategic leader' in the placement of global centers of competence (GCCs) for multinational corporations (MNCs) and become indispensable to the world knowledge economy.
Speaking at the CII GCC Business Summit 2026, Sitharaman noted that while one new GCC was established every week in 2024, the country now accepts an average of one such addition daily. This allows India to host more than half of all GCCs globally.
She emphasized that the Indian GCC ecosystem has reached a level where scale is no longer the sole criterion for success. The focus is now on helping global enterprises develop next-generation products, advanced technologies, and shape corporate strategy directly from India.
According to the minister, India possesses 'all the ingredients' necessary for this transformation. Her ambition is not merely to house competence centers but to shape the technologies, products, and enterprises of the future. This is how India transitions from a stage of competence to leadership.
Sitharaman added that India's journey in the GCC sector is broader than the history of a single successful sector; it is aimed at making India an integral part of the global knowledge economy and strengthening long-term economic sustainability. In her view, this will ensure a new form of economic resilience and strategic significance.
Currently, over 2100 GCCs operate in India, directly employing 23 lakh specialists and generating nearly $100 billion in annual revenue. The Finance Minister stated that India's next decade will be defined by the transition 'from competence to global leadership,' giving the country the opportunity to rethink its place in the world economy.
Furthermore, about two-thirds of companies on the Fortune Global 2000 list have not yet opened a GCC in India, representing one of the largest untapped investment opportunities.
Sitharaman explained that India's value proposition has evolved: it has shifted from simply ensuring cost efficiency to leading in competencies. Enterprises are now focusing not only on minimizing costs but also on maximizing innovation, accelerating discoveries, and strengthening long-term competitiveness.
She stressed that the goal for the next decade should not just be increasing the number of GCCs, but ensuring that the growing share of global ideas, patents, products, algorithms, platforms, and corporate capabilities is developed, designed, and managed from India.
The minister reported that the government recognizes that the next phase of India's GCC growth requires creating a favorable policy ecosystem that reduces hurdles, increases certainty, and supports long-term investments. Various measures have already been announced under the Union Budget for 2026-27.
Additionally, Sitharaman urged the industry to actively engage with state governments, educational institutions, and local communities to prepare second and third-tier cities for the next wave of GCC investment. She also advised the industry to decisively move up the value chain, create intellectual property, lead cutting-edge research, develop AI applications, and stimulate global innovation, while deepening collaboration with Indian scientific institutions and ensuring a seamless transition of innovations from labs to markets.
Karnataka has announced its future plans for the Indian technology sector by presenting an ambitious goal: to establish 500 new Global Capability Centers (GCCs) by 2029, secure 350 thousand high-quality jobs, and achieve an economic output of $50 billion USD.
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar held a meeting named KATALYST CONNECT, gathering over 150 leaders from global business companies in Bengaluru. The event was organized by the Department of Electronics, IT and Biotechnology in partnership with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM). This meeting was not merely a networking event but a working consultation, allowing the leadership of divisions of major global corporations in India to directly communicate their growth needs to the government.
Global Capability Centers are overseas hubs that multinational companies establish to perform critical functions of their business, such as development, research, finance, product design, and artificial intelligence. Previously viewed as back-offices, these centers are now entrusted by leading global firms with strategic tasks in India that shape global products.
The state of Karnataka, and especially Bengaluru, is at the center of this shift, and the state positions itself as a leading destination for GCCs in India. The KATALYST CONNECT event was specifically designed to maintain this status.
Before the consultation, Shivakumar visited the Target campus in India, which serves as a GCC for the American retail giant Target Corporation. He met with the management and personally observed the diversity of work performed in Karnataka, including technology, AI, finance, marketing, digital sphere, supply chain management, merchandising, and store design.
This visit underscored the government's assertion that GCCs in Karnataka are moving beyond simply executing external instructions; they are increasingly becoming platforms for shaping global strategy.
The consultation brought together leadership from numerous transnational enterprises, including Google, Target, Intel, IBM, Anthropic, Nokia, Bosch, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Chevron, Philips, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Takeda, Novo Nordisk Global Business Services, Lowe's India, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, Ford, eBay, Snowflake, Carl Zeiss, Collins Aerospace, Johnson Controls, Wayfair, Waters, Verint, A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Delta Air Lines, alongside senior government officials and industry stakeholders.
The participants' agenda was practical. Leaders raised issues regarding talent availability and the readiness of the future workforce, urban and digital infrastructure, AI adoption, ease of doing business, policy responsiveness, deepening industry-academia collaboration, and, crucially, expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru across the entire state.
The key quantitative targets outlined in the plan include: attracting 500 new GCCs, creating 350 thousand high-quality jobs, and generating $50 billion in economic volume. Over 150 GCC leaders participated in the consultation.
Addressing the attendees, Shivakumar presented the relationship as a partnership that has already yielded results and which he intends to deepen. He stated that Karnataka's partnership with GCCs has helped form one of the world's most dynamic innovation ecosystems, and the government remains committed to creating conditions where businesses can confidently innovate, access world-class talent, and scale globally.
Minister for Home, IT and Biotechnology Priyank M. Harge noted the transformation of these centers' roles. He emphasized that as GCCs evolve from execution centers into global nodes for AI, engineering, R&D, and product innovation, the state's focus is on ensuring the availability of talent, a supportive policy environment, and an innovative ecosystem necessary for them to take on larger global mandates.
Dr. N. Mandjula, Secretary of the IT-BT department, reported that industry recommendations will directly influence the state's roadmap. She mentioned the Karnataka GCC 2024-2029 policy document and initiatives like KATALYST, LEAP, Centres of Excellence, NIPUNA, and Beyond Bengaluru as tools to translate discussions into real action.
Discussions focused on several priorities that can be seen as a roadmap for the GCC economy in Karnataka: developing AI, generative AI, and enterprise transformation; workforce preparation, upskilling, and future readiness; developing digital and urban infrastructure; simplifying business operations and responsive policy; research, innovation, and industry-academia collaboration; expanding GCC investments outside Bengaluru; strengthening the startup and deep tech ecosystem; and ensuring GCCs can undertake larger global mandates.
KATALYST CONNECT concluded with a mutual commitment between the government and the industry to transform the day's recommendations into concrete measures. It was implied that competition for GCC investment from other Indian states and competing global hubs is intensifying, and Karnataka is banking on attentive listening to industry feedback and rapid response to stay ahead.
According to a poll conducted by CGTN, among 11,521 participants from 41 countries, the most profound impression of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is its 'strong leadership.' This survey was conducted nine decades after American journalist Edgar Snow first introduced the CCP to the world in his book 'Red Star Over China' in 1937 during the Chinese Civil War.
When evaluating the role of the CCP, 'strong leadership' ranked first. This was followed by characteristics such as 'a positive force for maintaining global stability' and 'a representative of the interests of developing countries.' Among descriptions of the CCP's image, the terms 'powerful,' 'visionary,' and 'effective' lead.
By age group, respondents aged 18 to 24 more frequently selected the options 'a positive force for maintaining global stability' and 'a representative of the interests of developing countries.' Furthermore, the proportion of people over 35 who noted 'strong leadership' exceeds the global average.
Regarding governance effectiveness, 57.4% of respondents from Global South countries gave positive ratings, which is 22.8 percentage points higher than in developed countries. The most favorable overall assessments of the CCP were received from respondents in Pakistan, Nigeria, and Vietnam, where approval levels exceeded 70%.
In specific areas of governance, global respondents highly rated the CCP's work in three fields: 'infrastructure improvement,' 'education improvement,' and 'job creation.' Ratings from respondents in Global South countries surpass global averages in all areas, with 'infrastructure improvement' receiving the highest score at 76.8%.
Among residents of developed countries, respondents from the USA noted higher-than-average ratings of the CCP's performance in several areas of governance. They surpassed the average for developed countries by more than 10 percentage points in the issues of 'environmental protection' and 'public health improvement.'
The poll was organized by CGTN in collaboration with Renmin University of China through the Institute of New Era International Communication Studies. The target audience consisted of ordinary citizens aged 18 and older from around the world. The sample covers both major developed countries and Global South nations, matching the age and gender distribution of national censuses in each country.
