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When British multinational Rolls-Royce wanted to scale its aerospace engineering capabilities, it didn’t look west, it turned to Bengaluru. The company’s joint innovation centre with Infosys in India isn’t just another offshore facility; it’s helping design and deliver the next wave of global engineering solutions. Across industries, from banking and retail to manufacturing and travel, UK-headquartered firms are transforming their India Global Capability Centers (GCCs) into core strategic engines, anchored in deep tech, end-to-end ownership, and product innovation.

According to Zinnov’s latest UK Global Capability Centers in India Report FY2025 report for FY2025, over 130 such UK GCCs now employ more than 200,000 professionals across the country. That makes the UK the second-largest GCC contributor in India after the United States. What stands out, however, isn’t just the scale, but the shift in mandate. As per the report, 95% of this workforce is focused on IT, engineering, and R&D, a decisive break from the traditional back-office narrative that once defined offshore operations.

This evolution is being driven by a combination of local leadership empowerment, a growing deep-tech talent pool, and a policy climate that supports high-value work. According to the Zinnov–Nasscom mid-market GCC study, UK GCCs in India now house 1.5 times more deep-tech professionals, in AI, cybersecurity, cloud, and data science, than their global peers. India is also home to nearly half the world’s product management talent in mid-market companies, further underscoring the shift in where critical decisions and innovation charters are being executed.

This isn’t a cosmetic change in org charts, it’s a restructuring of intent. UK-based firms are increasingly giving their Indian teams full product mandates: from conception to deployment. According to Zinnov, over 60% of product and platform charters are now driven entirely from Indian GCCs. 

For example, Tesco’s tech centre in Bengaluru is responsible for the company’s AI-powered till systems, personalised shopping tools, and logistics optimisation models, all built and owned in India. Similarly, Standard Chartered’s fintech nerve centres in Chennai and Bengaluru handle real-time payments, AI-based compliance, and blockchain experimentation as part of the bank’s global transformation strategy.

India’s unmatched talent density plays a key role. With 3.3 million software engineers and the world’s largest STEM graduate base, the country offers both scale and specialisation. Even as global talent costs rise, by around 8% for 100-member tech teams, India offers up to 50% in cost advantages compared to the UK, allowing firms to redirect savings into R&D and long-term capability building. Amadeus, for instance, now delivers 40% of its global product development from India, and runs a dedicated startup collaboration programme, “Travel4Impact,” focused on digital innovation in travel.

This isn’t just a one-way street. UK firms are deeply embedded in India’s startup and academic ecosystems. According to HSBC, its India technology centres work closely with fintechs and universities to co-create new solutions, from AI models to cybersecurity protocols. Barclays runs academic partnerships to boost emerging tech skills, while Unilever and Rolls-Royce invest in long-term STEM education initiatives across Indian schools and colleges.

India’s GCCs are also fast emerging as AI innovation hubs. A British retail multinational recently developed a GPT-powered procurement assistant from its Indian centre, delivering over 90% accuracy on internal queries. According to PwC, more than 500 Indian GCCs now specialise in AI/ML, and these centres are growing 1.3x faster than the overall GCC landscape. The push is clear: build once, scale globally.

Still, integration is not without its frictions. A recent industry report by SRKAY Consulting Group points out that 60% of global leaders face challenges in offshore collaboration, ranging from misaligned governance models to cultural disconnects. Addressing these soft barriers is essential if global firms want to unlock the full potential of their India operations. There’s also rising pressure to strengthen IP protections and manage talent attrition in highly competitive domains like AI and data science.

Despite these hurdles, the strategic case is only getting stronger. India now offers UK firms not just operational scale, but future resilience. As Britain contends with rising labour costs and a thinning STEM talent pipeline, India’s ability to deliver fast, at scale, and with increasing sophistication has become indispensable. And with trade agreements in the pipeline and a growing number of UK firms now expanding into Tier-II Indian cities, the runway for this partnership is long.

The journey of UK GCCs in India, from service centres to innovation hubs, is not a case study in outsourcing. It’s a recalibration of what global capability looks like. Built on engineering depth, digital ambition, and a thriving ecosystem, these centres are now shaping not just the future of UK enterprises, but also contributing meaningfully to India’s tech-driven growth story. The blueprint has become reality and the next chapter is being written from India.