Can Haryana Build GCCs Outside Gurugram? It All Comes Down to Execution

As India’s global capability centre (GCC) landscape evolves from outsourcing to strategic innovation, many states are rushing to grab a share of the growing pie. Haryana recently unveiled its new GCC policy in the hope of becoming a major GCC destination. 

The policy seeks to promote investment, foster innovation-led growth, generate high-skilled employment, and strengthen Haryana's position in the global services ecosystem. It aims to leverage the state’s existing strengths, particularly in Gurugram, while facilitating the development of emerging GCC hubs across other cities in the state.

The state aims to attract more than 100 new GCCs over the next five years. It also aims to create over 30,000 new employment opportunities.

However, experts caution that the policy’s long-term success will depend on how effectively Haryana expands beyond Gurugram, builds innovation-led capabilities, and creates an ecosystem that attracts both enterprises and talent.

In fact, a notable feature of the policy is its differentiated incentive structure, with higher benefits available for GCCs establishing operations outside Gurugram and within Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) zones. The policy provides both CAPEX and OPEX support, employment-linked incentives, reimbursement of employer contributions towards the provident fund for local hires, and targeted support for R&D centres. 

Akshay Mathur, Partner, Everest Group, tells AIM that Haryana's proximity to the National Capital Region (NCR) provides a strong foundation for its GCC ambitions.

“NCR is unlikely to be a hindrance to Haryana's GCC ambitions. If anything, it is one of the state's biggest advantages, providing access to a deep talent pool, strong infrastructure, international connectivity, and an established corporate ecosystem,” he says.

However, he notes that the bigger challenge lies in leveraging NCR’s strengths to create credible GCC destinations beyond Gurugram.

With nearly 90% of India's GCCs still concentrated in tier-1 cities, rising operating costs and increasing competition for talent are prompting enterprises to explore emerging locations. This creates an opportunity for cities such as Faridabad, Sonipat-Kundli, Panchkula, and others to turn into innovation hubs.

Next Generation of GCC Cities

Mathur believes the success of these emerging destinations will depend on several factors, including infrastructure development, policy execution, availability of Grade-A office space, talent development, and quality-of-life improvements. These elements will be critical in creating attractive alternative destinations for GCCs and supporting long-term talent retentionand business growth across emerging cities in the state.

“Talent typically follows opportunity. Professionals are more likely to relocate when there is a critical mass of employers, strong career prospects, and a vibrant ecosystem rather than a single investment or policy incentive,” he says.

Mathur argues that NCR should be viewed as an enabler rather than a competitor. “The bigger challenge is how quickly the state can translate that advantage into viable alternatives to Gurugram.”

Ashutosh Sharma, VP and Research Head at advisory firm Forrester, notes that Haryana’s policy is an attempt to reposition the state’s GCC ecosystem from a traditional cost-arbitrage model toward a more innovation-driven approach.

“Haryana, especially the Gurugram region, has long been a major hub for global organisations to set up their GCCs,” Sharma states.

However, he points out that many existing centres have historically focused on relatively lower-complexity work.

The state is targeting high-value workstreams across AI, engineering, analytics, and digital transformation, while seeking to attract more advanced GCC mandates and higher-paying jobs.

AI Sandbox

A unique element of Haryana’s strategy is its proposed AI Sandbox initiative, which Sharma sees as a complementary effort to strengthen the state's innovation ecosystem.

“The good part of their strategy is that most states stop at offering incentives; they are also creating demand by offering to open up the state sectors for AI solutions that are built in this sandbox,” he says.

The initiative aims to bring together government, startups, enterprises, and researchers to co-develop AI applications that address real-world public sector challenges. This could help create demand for advanced AI capabilities while strengthening Haryana’s position as an emerging AI hub.

Industry experts agree that talent availability is not currently a major concern for Haryana due to its access to the broader Delhi-NCR talent pool. “Talent availability is not a major constraint for Delhi-NCR,” Sharma notes.

However, the challenge lies in scaling advanced capabilities as GCCs increasingly move into AI, product engineering, and innovation-focused functions.

Sharma also suggests that Haryana will need to improve broader factors such as environmental quality and law-and-order perceptions to attract talent from other parts of the country.

Focus on Execution

Haryana’s GCC policy stands out because it moves beyond traditional tax incentives and focuses on execution-driven support. 

It has linked the capacity building subsidy of up to 120% of the average gross monthly salary to the proportion of local employees in the workforce. It also features a job readiness programme offering reimbursement of 50% of the stipend for interns and apprentices. Moreover, it offers R&D support of up to ₹50 crore for big projects.

Ritika Loganey Gupta, GCC Tax Leader and Partner, EY India, notes that incentives are directly linked to employment generation, skilling, and research and development expansion rather than only capital investment.

“With upfront disbursement, time-bound approvals, and a single-window system, the state is materially reducing entry barriers and execution risk,” Gupta adds.

She also highlights Haryana's structured approach toward talent development with deeper industry-academia integration through co-designed curricula, internships, and applied research programs aligned with GCC requirements.

. “The state is taking a supply-side approach to talent creation through structured collaboration with academia and industry,” she remarks.

Combined with NCR’s existing workforce, these initiatives are expected to create a strong pipeline of industry-ready talent across digital, engineering, and analytics roles.

The challenge now lies in execution.