GCC City Index
Where should your GCC be? Score it, don't guess it.
We score India's GCC locations on six dimensions: how dense the education base is, how deep the labour catchment runs, how well-connected the city is to your HQ, what it costs, what the state pays back, and how fast GCCs are arriving. Every input is sourced; every score has a written rationale.
The index
Default weights · updated 2026-10-07
| City | Index | Education density20% | Labour catchment20% | Connectivity15% | Cost advantage15% | State incentives15% | GCC momentum15% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi NCR (Gurugram, Noida, Delhi)Delhi / Haryana / Uttar Pradesh | 85 | ||||||
| HyderabadTelangana | 81 | ||||||
| ChennaiTamil Nadu | 81 | ||||||
| BengaluruKarnataka | 79 | ||||||
| PuneMaharashtra | 74 | ||||||
| Mumbai (MMR incl. Navi Mumbai and Thane)Maharashtra | 74 | ||||||
| JaipurRajasthan | 66 | ||||||
| Emerging Tier-II GCC locationsMultiple | 66 |
Cost advantage: 5 = lowest cost. Scores are 1–5 judgements grounded in the sourced facts on each city page; the index is the weighted average scaled to 100.
Education, catchment and connectivity, side by side
Talent supply comes down to three things: how many institutions feed the city, how far the commuting and migration catchment reaches, and how easily leaders and teams move between India and HQ.
| City | Engineering institutions | Premier institutes | Catchment districts | International connectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 136 Hyderabad (38) + Rangareddi (97) + Medchal-Malkajgiri (1) districts, AICTE-approved UG Engineering & Technology institutions, 2025-26 (AICTE uses the old district names, so Rangareddi includes much of today's Medchal-Malkajgiri). Telangana state total is 202. Excludes the non-AICTE IIT Hyderabad and IIIT Hyderabad. | IIT Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad, Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, University of Hyderabad +5 | Hyderabad, Rangareddi, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Sangareddy, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri | 26 international destinations served by 24 foreign and 3 Indian carriers. Long-haul nonstops to London Heathrow (British Airways), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Amsterdam (KLM, 3x weekly since Sep 2025) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopian). No US nonstop, so US travel connects via the Gulf, Europe, Delhi or Mumbai. |
| Bengaluru | 82 Bengaluru Urban (70) + Bangalore Rural (12) districts, AICTE-approved UG Engineering & Technology institutions, 2025-26. Karnataka statewide total is 214. Excludes non-AICTE IISc/IIIT-B. | Indian Institute of Science (IISc), IIM Bangalore, IIIT Bangalore, National Law School of India University +5 | Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru South (formerly Ramanagara, renamed May 2025), Tumakuru, Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Krishnagiri (Hosur, Tamil Nadu) | Nonstop to Europe: London Heathrow (BA, twice daily from Jun 2026; also Air India, Virgin Atlantic), Frankfurt and seasonal Munich (Lufthansa), Paris CDG (Air France), Amsterdam (KLM). No nonstop US service: Air India ended Bengaluru-San Francisco in Feb 2026, and US trips now connect via Europe, the Gulf or Delhi. |
| Pune | 84 Pune district, AICTE-approved institutions offering UG Engineering & Technology, 2025-26 (Maharashtra total 400). The 2026-27 list has 86. Counting every level including diploma and PG gives 109, and AICTE-approved institutions across all programmes total 341 (2025-26). IISER and other non-AICTE institutions are excluded. | COEP Technological University, IISER Pune, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) +5 | Pune (PMC, Pimpri-Chinchwad, PMRDA region incl. Chakan, Talegaon, Hinjewadi) | Short-haul only: direct flights to Dubai (IndiGo, SpiceJet), Abu Dhabi and Bangkok (Air India Express). There are no direct long-haul flights to the US or Europe, and the planned Netherlands/Germany routes are unconfirmed. International passengers rose from 2.05 lakh (2024) to 3.38 lakh (2025), per Free Press Journal. Long-haul travel goes through Mumbai. |
| Chennai | 123 Chennai (15), Kanchipuram (68) and Thiruvallur (40) districts. Counts AICTE-approved UG Engineering & Technology institutions for 2025-26 (Tamil Nadu total: 485). The AICTE dashboard lists no Chengalpattu entries, so Chengalpattu colleges appear to be filed under Kanchipuram (pre-2019 boundaries). IITs, NITs and IIITs are not AICTE-approved and are excluded. 2026-27: 121 (16+64+41). | IIT Madras, Anna University (CEG, MIT, ACT campuses), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences +6 | Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur | Two nonstop Europe routes, London Heathrow (British Airways) and Frankfurt (Lufthansa, daily); Addis Ababa (Ethiopian); Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Colombo and Gulf hubs (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait). No nonstop North America or Australia service. |
| Delhi NCR (Gurugram, Noida, Delhi) | 111 AICTE-approved institutions offering UG Engineering & Technology, 2025-26, across the core NCR commute districts: Delhi NCT 20, Gautam Buddha Nagar 29, Ghaziabad 25, Faridabad 13, Sonepat 13, Gurgaon 11. Excludes IITs, NITs and IIITs, which are not AICTE-approved. Haryana state total is 100; Uttar Pradesh state total is 233. | IIT Delhi, IIIT-Delhi, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Netaji Subhas University of Technology (NSUT) +12 | Delhi (NCT), Gurugram, Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida/Greater Noida), Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Sonipat | Widest international network in India (162 total destinations). US nonstops were thinned in 2026: Air India kept its daily Delhi-New York JFK service but suspended Delhi-Newark (Jun-Aug 2026) and Delhi-Chicago (Jun-Oct 2026), cut Delhi-San Francisco to 7/week via Kolkata, and had already dropped Delhi-Washington. Pakistan airspace stays closed to Indian carriers. |
| Mumbai (MMR incl. Navi Mumbai and Thane) | 77 AICTE-approved UG Engineering & Technology institutions, 2025-26, in Mumbai City (16), Mumbai Suburban (15), Thane (30) and Raigad (16) districts. This is a proxy for MMR, because Raigad extends beyond MMR and AICTE lists no separate Palghar entries. IIT Bombay (not AICTE-approved) is excluded. Maharashtra has 400 such institutions statewide. | IIT Bombay, Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai, IIM Mumbai, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) +6 | Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Palghar, Raigad | 16.3 mn international passengers in 2025. Top international routes: Dubai (15% share), London (7.5%) and Abu Dhabi (7.5%). US service is thin in 2026: Air India ran Mumbai-Newark daily and suspended Mumbai-JFK from 1 Jun to 31 Aug 2026, and there is no Mumbai-San Francisco nonstop because of airspace restrictions |
| Jaipur | 33 Jaipur district, AICTE-approved institutions offering UG Engineering & Technology, academic year 2025-26 (Rajasthan total 98). Excludes non-AICTE institutes such as MNIT Jaipur. Counting all AICTE programmes and levels, Jaipur district has 123 approved institutions (Rajasthan 490). | MNIT Jaipur, LNMIIT Jaipur, Manipal University Jaipur, BIT Mesra (Jaipur off-campus) +6 | Jaipur, Dausa, Tonk, Ajmer, Sikar | Short-haul only: Abu Dhabi (Etihad), Sharjah (Air Arabia, Air India Express), Muscat (SalamAir), Bangkok-Don Mueang (Thai AirAsia); no direct Europe or US flights - long-haul connects via Delhi (~268 km) or Gulf hubs |
| Emerging Tier-II GCC locations | 274 AICTE-approved UG Engineering & Technology institutions, 2025-26, summed across the 10 host districts: Ahmedabad 17, Gandhinagar 10, Ernakulam (Kochi) 28, Thiruvananthapuram 25, Coimbatore 60, Indore 33, SAS Nagar/Mohali 12, Chandigarh 6, Khordha (Bhubaneswar) 54, Lucknow 29. Statewide totals for the same query are Tamil Nadu 485, Uttar Pradesh 233, Madhya Pradesh 173, Kerala 148, Gujarat 114, Odisha 98, Punjab 71 and Chandigarh UT 6. | IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Gandhinagar, CEPT University, Nirma University +14 | Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Indore, Dewas, Chandigarh, SAS Nagar (Mohali), Panchkula, Khordha, Cuttack, Lucknow, Barabanki | ~12.1M international passengers across the eight airports in FY2025-26, concentrated at Kochi (5.33M), Thiruvananthapuram (2.49M) and Ahmedabad (2.42M). Indore (66K) and Coimbatore (298K) carry little international traffic. Long-haul travel to the US and Europe generally connects through Gulf hubs or Tier-I metros. |
City profiles
Hyderabad
81Telangana
- · Large-scale primary GCCs (1,000+ seats) at lower cost than Bengaluru
- · Life sciences, pharma and healthcare GCCs
Bengaluru
79Karnataka
- · Product engineering and R&D centres needing senior and niche talent
- · AI/ML, data and platform engineering hubs
Pune
74Maharashtra
- · automotive, manufacturing and industrial engineering/ER&D centres (R&D close to factories)
- · BFSI technology and operations hubs that need Mumbai proximity at lower cost
Chennai
81Tamil Nadu
- · automotive and industrial engineering R&D (ER&D) centres
- · BFSI technology and operations at Tier-1 scale below Bengaluru/Mumbai cost
Delhi NCR (Gurugram, Noida, Delhi)
85Delhi / Haryana / Uttar Pradesh
- · Fortune 500 / G2000 hub-scale GCCs needing deep entry-level and mid-level talent
- · Finance, analytics and consulting-style GCCs close to Indian HQs, regulators and government
Mumbai (MMR incl. Navi Mumbai and Thane)
74Maharashtra
- · BFSI, capital-markets and fintech GCCs that need to sit near Indian regulators, exchanges and banks
- · Risk, compliance, treasury and finance-transformation centres
Jaipur
66Rajasthan
- · Finance & accounting, operations and BFSI back-office at the lowest cost in North India
- · Satellite or second-site engineering centres for NCR-based GCCs (268 km from Delhi)
Emerging Tier-II GCC locations
66Multiple
- · Hub-and-spoke expansion of an established Tier-I GCC at 25-30% lower talent cost
- · Finance, treasury and fintech operations at GIFT City (Gandhinagar IFSC)
Methodology
Education density uses AICTE-approved institutions, AISHE college and university counts, premier institutes (IIT, NIT, IIIT, IIM, BITS and top-ranked NIRF institutions) and annual engineering intake in the city's district and catchment.
Labour catchment looks at districts within a 60–90 minute commute, feeder cities that send talent through migration, population and any credible measure of the existing tech workforce.
Connectivity covers airport scale, international and long-haul routes to HQ regions, metro networks and expressway and rail links.
Cost, incentives and momentum reflect office rents and salary pressure, the state's GCC or IT policy, and the pace of recent GCC arrivals.
Each 1–5 score carries a written rationale on the city page. Scores are reviewed quarterly as new data arrives. The default weights favour talent supply; re-weight them for your role mix.
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