Indore: The Emerging Global Capability Center Frontier for Multinational Enterprises

The GCC map in India was dominated by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune for many years. This is now changing as firms seek alternatives outside of high-cost metros for technology, finance, engineering, analytics, and AI skills, and the Indore GCC is an example of it. With the Madhya Pradesh GCC Policy 2025, Indore now provides one more reason for global firms to think about including Indore in their expansion plans.

Why Indore Sudden Became Attractive

This appeal is not simply because of low cost office space.

A modern day GCC is expected to be capable of undertaking some complex tasks such as software development, artificial intelligence, analysis, engineering, research and finance. The Indian GCC industry itself has long left the back office paradigm behind, with more than 1,700 GCC centers currently in operation in the country.

This provides an opportunity for Indore IT hub aspirations.

1. Indore's selling point includes:

2. Availability of growing pool of technical manpower

3. Lower cost compared to big metros

4. IT Infrastructure

5. Increasing connectivity

6. Incentives at state level

7. Quality of life

Costs Remain Significant but Not the Only Factor

Cost continues to be among the leading motivators behind investigations into Tier-2 locations.

Current figures indicate that Tier-2 locations may have the potential to reduce costs by about 25–35% when compared with urban centers, although this percentage varies greatly based on each business model, employee, and property needs.

Thus, the 15–25% operational-cost advantage associated with Indore represents an impressive figure, although it cannot be taken as the cost-saving promise for all GCCs.

The more important issue to consider is whether such a reduction in costs is possible without sacrificing access to specialised talent.

The Madhya Pradesh GCC Policy 2025 Redefines the Equation

The Madhya Pradesh GCC Policy 2025 policy offers a variety of incentives to eligible GCCs such as capex assistance, rental assistance, payroll assistance, interest assistance, skill development assistance, and stamp duty and registration charges. In the policy paper, capex assistance up to ₹15 crore is offered for Level 1 GCCs and up to ₹30 crore for Level 2 GCCs. 

The policy also includes sectors like IT/ITeS, financial services, engineering, and new age technologies, while the state policy framework includes sectors like automobiles, pharmaceuticals, logistics, textiles, and renewable energy.

For an international company comparing Bengaluru with GCC in Indore, the equation gets transformed from “Where is the salary low?” to “Where can we establish our global capabilities in a cost-effective manner?”

Indore Enters GCC Discourse

It is not just some academic exercise in policymaking.

As per our data at Primescore, we analyzed that as far back as 2025, there were plans by companies to have their GCCs operate in Indore, with the investments involved being part of the larger effort towards technology investments in the state of Madhya Pradesh.  

Indeed, the state policy itself intends to generate investments involving over 50 GCCs and over 37,000 jobs, and with the state of Madhya Pradesh stressing its base in technical education, IT parks and technology infrastructure, the Indore GCC development effort has an ecosystem story.

The Larger Opportunity is Not Just about Cost Cutting

The true challenge for Indore will be in going from being the low-cost option to being the high-value technology destination.

When firms set up groups that will deal with areas like AI, cybersecurity, software engineering, analytics, R&D, and product management, there is the potential for an impact which goes beyond just office leasing.

The journey of the GCC model in India is increasingly heading towards innovation and strategic roles and not just cost cutting.

This makes the story of Madhya Pradesh investment very interesting indeed.

FAQs

1. Why would firms be looking at Indore as a GCC location?

Indore’s lower operating cost, talent availability, infrastructure and incentives make it an important location for GCCs in Tier-2 locations.

2. What is the Madhya Pradesh GCC Policy 2025?

This is a state-level policy that aims to lure firms by offering incentives on various components including capex, rentals, payroll, interest, skill and infrastructure support to develop GCCs in the state.

3. Does Indore offer more savings for GCC operations compared to Bengaluru?

There can be savings from tier-2 cities; however, depending upon the company and its operation, the extent of savings will vary.

4. Do GCCs in Indore operate only in IT services sector?

Not at all. There are sectors other than IT/ITeS like finance, engineering and others which can also become part of the GCC ecosystem.

5. Will Indore be a key GCC location?

There are many factors that will make Indore a strong GCC location; however, its long term performance will depend upon these factors.