Telangana Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu and others at the inauguration of Citizens Financial Group’s GCC in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT
Telangana government is pursuing a vision of making 200 million sq ft of Grade-A commercial space available in Hyderabad by 2030 to meet the growing demand from companies setting up facilities, Industries and IT Minister D. Sridhar Babu said here on Tuesday (April 15, 2025).
In partnership with realty players, the government is hopeful of achieving the vision. “Our goal is to make the space available to global investors and enterprises,” he said.
The Minister, who was speaking at the inauguration of U.S. firm Citizens Financial Group’s global capability centre (GCC) in the city, said this highlighting the progress Hyderabad has made in attracting various companies, especially GCCs, and the imperative to consolidate on the city emerging as a preferred destination.
355 GCCs in Hyderabad employ 3L professionals
Mr. Sridhar Babu said that in 2024 Hyderabad registered a 56% year-on-year growth in commercial space absorption, the highest in the country. In retail sector alone, 1.8 million sq ft feet was leased last year in the city. Elaborating on the role of GCCs, he said the city hosts 355 GCCs with 70 of them established over the past one year. Together, they employ 3 lakh skilled professionals and contribute to $10 billion in revenues.
He said the State government is keen on not just making Hyderabad a GCC hub but also help transform such facilities into global value-added centres focused on innovation, research and development as well as product development. The government was also investing in skill development and towards this conceived the Young India Skills University. All these will contribute to the State achieving its larger vision of becoming $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Citizens Financial Group Inc, which plans to become the first U.S. regional bank to fully migrate to the cloud, said the GCC has been launched in partnership with technology firm Cognizant to accelerate innovation and the execution of its enterprise technology strategy.
1,000 professionals at Citizens GCC by March 2026
Located within Cognizant’s new campus in Hyderabad, the GCC is designed to help the Citizens quickly and effectively foster innovative solutions for customers. The GCC is expected to scale up to 1,000 IT and Data and Analytics professionals by March 2026.
“Our partnership with Cognizant [for the GCC] is core to our strategy to scale digital transformation, strengthen innovation capabilities, reduce reliance on vendor partners, and expedite introduction of new-age banking products,” Chief Information Officer Michael Ruttledge said in a release.
As strategic partner, Cognizant will build and operate the GCC, with programme governance provided by Boston Consulting Group.
“The establishment of Citizens’ first GCC in Hyderabad underscores our shared commitment to driving innovation and transformation in the financial services sector,” said Surya Gummadi, President – Americas, Cognizant.
Cognizant plans to create a Banking and Financial Services Innovation Centre to help clients foster innovation, facilitate collaboration, improve operational security and compliance, data and analytics, cybersecurity, and customer experience.
Published – April 15, 2025 06:05 pm is
