President Trump’s recent move to introduce a $100,000 H-1B visa fee and his emphasis on localizing talent signal a significant shift in how global businesses will access and manage skilled talent. For U.S. companies, this presents not a constraint but a catalyst to expand capabilities through offshore centers in India. India’s Global Capability Centers (GCCs) now offer a scalable, compliant, and innovation-driven pathway for firms to strengthen operations, enhance resilience, and sustain global growth.
Trump’s news is a catalyst rather than noise.
Firms that once relied on moving skilled professionals overseas now face steep costs and shrinking options, pushing them to localize delivery through offshore centres. At the same time, U.S.– China tensions are accelerating the “China+1” strategy (a diversification approach where global companies reduce overdependence on China by expanding operations into alternative markets like India) which is the most reliable alternative for scale. Add to this the strong dollar amplifying India’s cost advantage, and the case for India-based GCCs becomes urgent.
What Global Corporates Expect from Offshore Hubs
In this environment, setting up and operating a resilient GCC is no longer just a cost play, but a strategic necessity.
Transparency and trust have become non-negotiable pillars for U.S. firms operating globally. With heightened investor oversight and tighter regulatory scrutiny, companies are now expected to demonstrate full governance visibility, robust cybersecurity, and strict compliance with export controls particularly in sensitive domains such as AI, semiconductors, and defense technologies. As noted by Morgan Lewis in its report Rise of GCCs, this has driven corporations to reimagine their offshore models, using GCCs to maintain both operational efficiency and regulatory integrity.
India’s deep talent base, cost advantage, and mature operational ecosystem are attracting new investment. As Reuters reported following President Trump’s imposition of tariffs of up to 25–50% on Indian goods, service exports and GCC operations remain comparatively insulated making India a stable and scalable route for long-term growth and diversification.
Where and How You Begin Matters
Speed & Modular Design
Rather than launching a monolithic GCC, adopt a phased, pilot-then-scale architecture so you can course-correct as geopolitical winds shift. For example, a tech firm might begin with a 50-person pilot in Bengaluru and expand laterally to Pune or Chennai. This modular approach reduces upfront risk.
Hybrid / BOT / Managed Models
Leverage models like Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) or managed team structures to balance flexibility and control. In June 2025, Dai-ichi Life ,a Japanese multinational life insurance company signed a multi-year agreement with Capgemini to establish its first Global Capability Centre outside Japan in Hyderabad structured to operate under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.
Real Estate & Infrastructure Lock-In
Secure office footprints, co-working hubs or Tier-2 city satellite spaces early before real estate costs escalate. Smartworks recently leased over a million sq ft across multiple cities (including Tier-2) to capitalize on growing demand from enterprise and GCC growth. The Economic Times
Regulatory Alignment from Day Zero
Embed compliance, tax planning, transfer pricing, and entity structuring from the start to avoid costly rework later. Experts note that misaligned structures are among the primary causes of GCC failure under shifting global tax regimes. Morgan Lewis+1 .
India’s Pro-GCC Policy Environment
The Indian government’s progressive stance through simplified company incorporation, tax incentives for technology and R&D centers, and evolving SEZ and IT park policiesfurther enables smoother and faster GCC establishment
Neglecting the setup phase is a trap your setup decisions bind you for years. A poorly chosen location or model can become a strategic liability, eroding agility, increasing compliance risk, or forcing expensive restructuring down the road.
Operating Right – From Transactions to Trust
Once your GCC is live, how you operate defines whether it remains strategic or becomes a cost-center under threat.
Compliance-First Core
Embed SOX(Sarbanes-Oxley Act) controls, audit readiness, business continuity / disaster recovery planning, and cybersecurity protocols from day one to ensure robustness under scrutiny. For instance, complying with SOX top-down risk assessments helps you systematically identify and test internal financial control processes.
This foundation builds trust with stakeholders and ensures you don’t backfill controls later at a higher cost.
Flexible Governance Tiers
Deploy layered oversight, local, regional and global, allowing decision-making agility while maintaining accountability across levels. This tiered model enables faster execution at the local hub while aligning to global compliance standards.
Such governance is critical when balancing decentralization and global consistency in large GCC networks across countries.
Center of Excellence (CoE) Hubs
Rather than just running transactional workflows, evolve certain functions like analytics, AI/ML, or automation into full CoEs. According to EY, GCCs are increasingly used to host in-house CoEs to drive innovation and deep domain capabilities. EY
These hubs become knowledge anchors, reducing reliance on the parent company for specialized functions and enabling global value creation in India.
Talent Continuity & Upskilling
Prioritize retention and internal capability development so core skills remain in your hub, even if external conditions change. While rotating talent is valuable, over-dependence on U.S. transfers can jeopardize continuity under visa or policy constraints.
An effective continuous learning and leadership pipeline ensures that the GCC evolves from an execution center to a capability center.
If a GCC operates like a back-office swamp rather than a strategic nerve center, it becomes the first casualty when cost or policy pressure escalates.
Lessons from Corporate Missteps
Talent wars and rushed execution have been the biggest pitfalls for GCC strategies in recent years. Early movers gain an edge, while late entrants pay the price in inflated costs and painful restructuring.
In 2023, Deloitte, EY, and PwC rapidly expanded their GCCs in India, absorbing niche talent in analytics, tax tech, and compliance. This aggressive hiring drove salaries up by nearly 40% in certain domains, forcing late entrants in 2024 to pay steep premiums to attract or poach similar skills. (Mint, 2023) At the same time, Franklin Templeton’s India operations faced turbulence in 2024, when the firm had to restructure its GCC after initial misalignments, incurring heavy costs to stabilize governance and align with global standards. (Business Standard, 2024)
The GCC Decade Begins
The future of global operations will be shaped less by visas and borders, and more by how boldly firms reimagine their GCCs. In the coming decade, India is set to evolve from a cost-advantage hub into the world’s epicenter for innovation, compliance excellence, and digital capability. CFOs and CXOs who seize this window will not only weather today’s disruptions but also build platforms that fuel growth, resilience, and competitive edge for years to come.
Astravise Proven Models for GCC Setups
At Astravise, we help you with the end-to-end set up and management of your GCC – and strategize, structure, and scale it for long-term success. From initial feasibility assessments and entity structuring to operational governance and compliance alignment, our expertise ensures your GCC becomes a true extension of your enterprise, not just an offshore arm.
DIY Model: Astravise guides organizations in setting up and operating fully owned GCCs with complete control and long-term scalability.
BOT Model: Enables a smooth Build-Operate-Transfer journey. Astravise builds, manages, and transitions GCCs seamlessly to client ownership.
Vendor Model: Offers end-to-end vendor-managed GCC operations for firms seeking speed and low operational complexity.
Managed Team Model: Provides dedicated, custom-built teams that act as an extension of your enterprise blending agility with governance.
Connect with Astravise Services to design, deploy, and scale a center that drives innovation, compliance, and global excellence.