Kerala on the Right Track to be a GCC Hub: Experts at ‘Kerala GCC Outlook 2026’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:’
Kerala, with its talent pool, quality education facilities and an innovative startup ecosystem, has all the right ingredients to attract more Global Capability Centres (GCCs), according to experts at ‘Kerala GCC Outlook 2026’ conclave held at Technopark here on Tuesday.

The panel discussion on “Kerala GCC Opportunity: From Strategic Assessment to Accelerated Growth” was hosted as a prelude to the launch of Kerala GCC Feasibility Report at the conclave.

Industries, Commerce, IT &AI Minister PK Kunhalikutty launched the report following the panel discussion.

Participating in the deliberations, Hrishikesh Nair, Chief Operating Officer, Brigade Enterprises Ltd.; Suja Chandy, Chief Sustainability Officer (Global) & Managing Director, India Zafin; Jipu Jose James, Managing Director, PDS India, JLL; and Karthik Parasuram, General Manager & Centre Head, NOV’s Digital Technology Center, focused on various factors that can accelerate Kerala’s growth to become a major GCC hub.

Srinivasan Sarvabhouman, CFO, ANSR, moderated the session.

Kerala can be a niche destination for GCCs to start their operation owing to state’s quality education institutions that generates readily available talent pool, said Suja Chandy.

The state has its own unique strengths like good weather, excellent air quality, and sustainability etc which we could market to attract more GCC facilities into the state, she added.

However, more investment and focus should be given to academia and industry collaboration with government as the enabler in order sustain the talent pipeline, she added.

The state needs to have ready to occupy incubation spaces, and invest more on quality infrastructure in order to rope in more GCC facilities into the state, noted Hrishikesh.

More air and rail connectivity and well networked metro facilities are also important factors that GCC’s looks before starting their operations, he noted.

The attrition rate in companies functioning in Kerala is much lesser than other Tier-1 cities like Bangalore, Mumbai or Delhi, which shows employees prefer living in Kerala because of higher quality of life, said Jipu Jose James.

We need to prioritize connectivity to facilitate hub-and-spoke model with Tier-1 cities and also for cross pollination of talents which is vital for GCC’s functioning, he added.

Kerala is benefitting from an ecosystem that is built in the last 25-30 years, with emphasis on education, innovation and MSME sector, observed Karthik Parasuram.

Kerala should also make use of its diaspora to market the state’s unique attributes and ecosystem for GCC’s to consider the state as a viable option to start their operations, he added.

‘Kerala GCC Outlook 2026’ is a strategic platform to discuss Kerala’s growing GCC ecosystem and the emerging opportunities to help the state position itself as a major GCC hub in the country.