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India’s IT-ITeS sector delivered steady growth in FY25, driven by GCC-led services and rising software exports, the Economic Survey 2025–26 noted. According to the Survey, in FY25, India’s IT and IT-enabled services (IT-ITeS) sector reinforced the country’s position as a global technology and innovation hub, supported by continued revenue growth, a rising role of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and deeper engagement in higher-value, complex technology activities.

Nasscom estimates IT&ITeS industry revenues at USD 283 billion in FY25 (including hardware), implying a year-on-year growth of 5.1 per cent as against 3.9 per cent in FY24, underscoring resilience amid currency depreciation and subdued global tech spending. IT services exports, a key stabiliser of the external sector, are estimated to grow by 3.7 per cent in FY25.

“In recent years, a key structural feature underpinning the IT-ITeS sector’s performance has been the steady expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs) – offshore units established by multinational firms to undertake technology development, engineering, analytics and business operations for their global activities. As of FY24, India hosts over 1,700+ GCCs, employing over 19 lakh professionals, making it the largest global hub for captive centres. GCCs account for a significant share of employment within the IT sector and have contributed meaningfully to incremental hiring in recent years,” the Survey said.

Over time, GCCs have evolved from support-oriented functions into integral components of multinational firms’ global operations, undertaking core activities such as product development, engineering, analytics, cybersecurity operations and AI-enabled digital functions, thereby strengthening India’s integration into global value chains as a resilient source of growth.

“The diversification of the GCC ecosystem has been driven by the growing participation of more specialised and innovation-focused mid-market GCCs, comprising mid-sized and emerging multinational firms. In parallel, the expansion of GCCs into Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities has supported more geographically dispersed employment and strengthened linkages with local innovation and startup ecosystems,” the Survey said.

Driven by surging data consumption, rapid cloud adoption, and the growing use of AI, India’s data centre capacity is projected to reach about 8 GW by 2030 from about 1.4 GW as of Q2 of 2025. AI data centres are specialised high-performance facilities designed to meet the intensive computational needs of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning workloads, it said.

Despite generating nearly 20 per cent of the world’s data, India hosts only about 3 per cent of global data centres, around 150 out of 11,000 worldwide, according to Nasscom, highlighting both a large growth opportunity and a competitiveness gap. Data centres are also double-edged swords, as they are very energy-intensive. With emerging hubs such as Malaysia (Johor), Japan, and Vietnam intensifying competition, addressing structural constraints such as energy shortages will be critical for India to position itself as a global AI data centre hub.