How GCCs are driving the Next Wave of Real Estate Demand

Avneesh Sood, Director, Eros Group in an interaction with Janifha Evangeline, Managing Editor, Homes India Magazine shared his views on why GCCs are emerging as the biggest real estate demand driver in India’s top cities, how Global Capability Centres are transforming Office Space Demand across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and NCR, and more.

Avneesh Sood is a prominent real estate leader known for his strategic vision and business acumen in India’s real estate and hospitality sectors. With decades of industry experience, he has played a key role in expanding Eros Group’s presence across Delhi-NCR through premium residential, commercial, hospitality, and mixed-use developments.   

Why are GCCs emerging as the biggest real estate demand driver in India’s top cities?

GCCs have become the single most significant real estate market demand in India. MNCs pay more attention to the innovation and technology sectors, as opposed to simply seeing India as a cheaper outsourcing destination. Presently, there are more than 1700 GCCs in India. These centres fuel considerable office and residential real estate demand in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Gurugram, and NCR. Roles with salaries that are significant are being offered to professionals in the domains of AI, cloud computing, analytics, and product development, which in turn causes demand for both Grade-A office spaces and premium housing.

GCC employees prefer new, modern outskirts over traditional city centres, integrated live-work-play ecosystems. A few of the locations that showcase a spike in demand in real estate focus and rentals include Whitefield, Sarjapur, Gachibowli, Kokapet, Kharadi, and Dwarka Expressway.

How are Global Capability Centres Transforming Office Space Demand across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and NCR?

If you look at India’s office market today, GCCs are no longer just one more occupier category, they have become the biggest structural demand driver across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and NCR. What is interesting is that this demand is not only increasing office absorption, but also reshaping where people live, how developers build, and which micro-markets attract capital. In Bengaluru, GCCs are now driving more than one-third of total office leasing activity. Global firms are no longer using India only for back-office operations. They are setting up AI, engineering, cloud, cybersecurity, and product development hubs. This is pushing demand for premium Grade-A campuses in Whitefield, ORR, and North Bengaluru.

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Hyderabad is seeing a similar trend, especially in Gachibowli and Kondapur, where GCC expansion by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google has tightened vacancy levels and increased rentals significantly. Pune has emerged as a strong alternative because companies get quality talent at relatively lower operating costs. Meanwhile, NCR is benefiting from multinational expansion along Gurugram and Noida corridors, supported by infrastructure such as Dwarka Expressway and upcoming connectivity upgrades.

What makes India’s Top Cities the Preferred Destination for Global Capability Centres today?

Cost advantage is not the only factor that will shape the appeal of India's largest cities as choices for Global Capability Centres in 2026. Cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, Chennai, and Mumbai have transformed from being mainly low-cost outsourcing destinations for multinational companies, to become global innovation and decision-making centres. Multinational companies are beginning to want to establish GCCs, as India possesses a robust digital framework, a fast-growing technology ecosystem, and the largest pool of skilled personnel.

What is particularly striking is that 30% of all GCC leasing in India is currently being undertaken in Bengaluru, and the trend continues to increase. The services being offered are also of a high stature. These centres take on the responsibilities and activities surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), cloud engineering, semiconductor design, and cybersecurity. Additionally, the employment offered at GCCs is at a premium and is consequently driving demand for high-end residential and office space, lifestyle retail services, and integrated services of a high standard. The GCCs are also driving the construction and development of new transportation infrastructure. Suburban locations are quickly becoming the new urban centres due to the expansion of the metro, expressways, and airports.

How is the GCC Boom Driving Growth in Housing, Rentals, and Urban Infrastructure across India?

The GCC boom is no longer just an office market story, it is now reshaping India’s entire urban and residential real estate ecosystem. What we are witnessing today is a structural shift in how people live, work, and choose cities. GCCs are bringing in a highly paid workforce, especially in technology, AI, engineering, and financial services, and this is directly increasing demand for premium housing and rental properties near major office corridors.

Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Gurugram, and Chennai are seeing this transformation most clearly. Areas such as Whitefield, Sarjapur, Gachibowli, Kokapet, and Dwarka Expressway have become high-growth residential markets because professionals want to live closer to their workplaces and reduce commute times. This is pushing both property prices and rentals upward. At the same time, the GCC expansion is forcing cities to improve infrastructure. Metro connectivity, airports, expressways, social infrastructure, retail, schools, and healthcare are all expanding around these business districts.

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Why are Fortune 500 Companies Expanding Their GCC Presence rapidly in India’s leading Metro Cities?

If you look at the current real estate and corporate expansion cycle in India, Fortune 500 companies are no longer coming here only for cost arbitrage. That phase is over. Today, India has evolved into a strategic global operations hub, and that is the biggest reason GCC expansion is accelerating across cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, and NCR. What is driving this momentum is the combination of talent availability, strong digital infrastructure, policy stability, and the maturity of India’s Grade-A office ecosystem. India today has over 1,700 GCCs employing nearly 1.9 million professionals, and companies are increasingly using these centres for AI, engineering, cloud computing, cybersecurity, analytics, and product development rather than just backend support.

At the same time, metro cities are offering integrated business districts with better connectivity, premium office spaces, and live-work-play ecosystems that global firms now prefer. Bengaluru alone accounts for nearly one-third of India’s GCC leasing activity. Another important factor is scalability. Global companies can hire faster, expand quicker, and operate more efficiently in India compared to many global markets. That is why GCCs are now becoming one of the strongest long-term demand drivers for India’s office and residential real estate sectors.

How are GCC Hiring Trends Reshaping Talent Demand, Salaries, and Commercial Real Estate across India?

GCC hiring trends are no longer influencing just the office sector; they are now reshaping the entire urban economy of India’s top cities. What we are witnessing today is a structural shift where Global Capability Centres are driving demand for premium talent, premium office spaces, and even premium housing simultaneously.

Companies are no longer setting up GCCs in India only for cost arbitrage. They are building global innovation hubs focused on AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, engineering, and analytics. Naturally, this has sharply increased demand for highly skilled professionals. Salaries in GCCs are now 25% to 40% higher than traditional IT services firms, especially for GenAI and advanced engineering roles.

This hiring wave is directly impacting commercial real estate. Cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Gurugram are seeing stronger demand for Grade A office assets, flexible workspaces, and integrated business districts. In many micro-markets, office demand is now spilling over into residential demand as employees prefer to live closer to tech corridors.