Hyderabad: After Hyderabad, Warangal and Karimnagar are posed to be the next destinations for Global Capability Centres (GCC). At least, that’s what the Nasscom predicts.
In a recent report, the industry body lists the two cities of Telangana as “emerging hubs for GCCs” in India for multiple reasons: availability of talent pool, proximity to Hyderabad, presence of some top colleges — like the National Institute of Technology (NIT) — ,and affordable real estate.
“Telangana is a prime location for GCCs due to its established ecosystem, availability of talent, supportive govt policies, and infrastructure advantages, particularly in cities like Hyderabad, Warangal, and Karimnagar,” the report, GCC Playbook – Telangana’s Blueprint for Growth, states, pointing out how companies like LTI Mindtree, Genpact, and Cyient have already set up offices in Warangal.
In fact, industry experts say developing any other tier 2 city is a win-win situation for all parties involved.
“If govt offers incentives, companies will be more than willing to set up business in Warangal or Karimnagar as the cost of establishment is very low compared to Hyderabad. The same goes for cost of living and competition to hire talent,” said Ajit Rangnekar, director general at the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad, adding that students who come to Hyderabad from these cities for education will be more than willing to go back if they get the right opportunities.
The other USP of these cities: social and medical infrastructure. “They also have the needed talent pool…setting up GCCs here can help create jobs like like analytics, data annotation, and labelling for those willing to ‘work near home’,” added Rangnekar, who is the chief innovation officer at the Telangana Innovation Cell as well.
That these cities are not more than three hours away from Hyderabad is another favourable factor.
“Pune has leveraged its proximity to Mumbai. Warangal, Karimnagar, or any of our other tier 2 cities in Telangana too could go the same way. In fact, I won’t be surprised if people living in the eastern corridor show more inclination to work in Warangal than the IT corridor here, as it is closer,” said M Sesha Rao, executive director, Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association, adding that they are working closely with the govt to bring more companies to these cities.
