With more than 515 GCCs already operating in the city, Hyderabad is moving beyond its traditional IT-ITeS identity as global companies expand into engineering, BFSI, life sciences, semiconductors and higher-value corporate functions
Hyderabad’s commercial real estate market is entering a new phase as the city’s growing Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem reshapes office demand, employment and the geography of corporate expansion.
A new report by Anarock Research & Advisory and FICCI, Hyderabad: The Rise of a Global Capability Powerhouse, estimates that GCCs, IT-ITeS companies, BFSI firms, flex operators and allied services could generate an additional 8-12 million sq. ft of office demand in Hyderabad over the next three to five years. The expansion could bring 50-70 new GCCs to the city and generate more than 75,000 high-skilled jobs across technology, engineering, BFSI, life sciences, analytics, consulting and digital operations.
The scale of the opportunity is already visible. Hyderabad has more than 515 GCCs employing over 3 lakh professionals and accounts for nearly 20% of India’s GCC base. More significantly, the city added more than 70 GCCs in FY25, the highest among the major GCC destinations of Bengaluru, Pune and Chennai.
That growth is translating directly into office leasing. GCC office leasing in Hyderabad increased from 1.9 million sq ft in 2021 to 4.5 million sq ft in 2025, while GCC absorption reached 3.05 million sq ft in the first half of 2026 alone. Anuj Puri, Chairman of Anarock Group, points to this sustained leasing momentum as evidence that global companies are no longer treating Hyderabad simply as a location for smaller offshore operations. Instead, they are increasingly setting up larger and more sophisticated centres in the city.
From IT-ITeS centre to a broader global capability hub
The changing nature of Hyderabad’s GCC market is perhaps as important as its scale. Technology and software continue to anchor demand, but the city is attracting a much wider range of functions across BFSI, pharmaceuticals and life sciences, semiconductors, aerospace and defence, automotive and engineering, healthcare, consumer and retail, and media and sports technology.
V V Rama Raju, Chairman, FICCI Telangana State Council and Founder & Managing Director, Gaja Engineering, says the city’s GCC proposition is now extending well beyond conventional IT-ITeS activities. Global companies are increasingly using Hyderabad for functions spanning AI and machine learning, cloud engineering, product development, cybersecurity, financial analytics, fintech, regulatory operations, drug development analytics, clinical data, chip design, R&D, embedded systems and digital transformation.
This diversification is changing the character of office demand. Instead of relying heavily on a single occupier category, Hyderabad is developing a broader corporate base, while the functions being housed in the city are becoming more specialised and higher value.
The report expects this trend to continue, with companies increasingly seeking Grade A, ESG-compliant, amenity-rich and technology-enabled workplaces. This could support premium rentals for institutional-quality office assets, while flex and managed workspace providers could see another 2-3 million sq ft of potential demand, particularly across western Hyderabad and established IT corridors.
A healthier office market
The GCC expansion comes at a time when Hyderabad’s wider office market is beginning to show a stronger demand-supply balance.
The city currently has approximately 125 million sq. ft of Grade A office stock, representing around 15% of India’s Grade A inventory, with another 36 million sq. ft in the pipeline. While annual office completions have moderated sharply from 17.1 million sq. ft in 2022 to 3 million sq ft in H1 2026, occupier demand has remained resilient. Net absorption stood at 8.5 million sq. ft in 2025 and 5.2 million sq. ft during the first half of 2026.
Vacancy has also moved in the right direction, declining from 26.3% in 2025 to 23.5% in H1 2026. Average office rentals are currently around Rs. 75 per sq ft per month, below the pan-India average of Rs. 96, giving Hyderabad a cost advantage as companies evaluate locations for large-scale operations.
The city’s competitive position is supported by its talent base. Hyderabad has an estimated 1 million IT professionals and produces more than 4 lakh STEM graduates annually. The combination of talent availability, relatively lower office costs and a growing mix of technology, BFSI, pharmaceuticals and semiconductor capabilities is strengthening its appeal to global occupiers.
Closing the gap with established GCC markets
Hyderabad still trails Bengaluru in the overall number of GCCs, but its recent pace of additions is becoming a key differentiator. The city’s 515-plus GCCs compare with more than 880 in Bengaluru, 475-plus in Pune and 280-plus in Chennai. Yet Hyderabad added more than 70 new GCCs in FY25, compared with 30-35 in Bengaluru, 15-20 in Pune and 12-15 in Chennai.
The city also offers a relatively favourable operating environment. Eligible processes under Telangana’s TS-iPASS system have a reported guaranteed approval timeline of 15 days, compared with more variable timelines in competing markets.
Its prime office rents remain competitive as well. The report places Hyderabad’s prime office rents at Rs. 95-115 per sq ft per month, compared with Rs. 110-140 in Bengaluru, Rs. 80-105 in Pune and Rs. 65-90 in Chennai. Hyderabad’s broader combination of cost, talent and sector depth is therefore becoming central to its GCC pitch.
Western Hyderabad takes centre stage
As GCCs scale up, the western corridor is expected to remain the main beneficiary of the next phase of commercial development.
HITEC City, Gachibowli, Financial District and Kokapet already offer established Grade A office stock, access to talent and supporting infrastructure. Continued development along the Financial District-Kokapet corridor is expected to further improve the city’s ability to accommodate large-format global occupiers.
Rental movement across these micro-markets is already reflecting stronger demand. The report records Grade A rents in HITEC City at Rs. 75-115 per sq ft per month in H1 2026, while Madhapur rentals moved to Rs. 90-110 per sq ft and Gachibowli to Rs. 60-90 per sq ft per month.
The direction of growth suggests that Hyderabad’s next office cycle will be driven less by conventional back-office expansion and more by companies establishing sophisticated centres for R&D, engineering, analytics, digital operations and corporate functions.
The next phase
For Hyderabad, the GCC story is increasingly becoming a story about what kind of work the city can capture, rather than simply how much office space it can absorb.
The shift from support functions towards R&D, engineering, analytics, digital and corporate operations could strengthen the city’s role in global innovation and decision-making. With a large technology talent pool, competitive occupancy costs, established infrastructure, expanding BFSI and life sciences ecosystems and a growing supply of Grade A offices, the report expects Hyderabad to remain attractive to global occupiers through the end of the decade.
If the projected 8-12 million sq ft of additional demand materialises, the impact will extend beyond office leasing. It will influence employment, workspace formats, rentals and the development trajectory of western Hyderabad, reinforcing the city’s emergence as one of India’s principal destinations for global capability operations.
