GCCs in Kerala 2026: A Placement Officer's Guide to Global Capability Centres Hiring Freshers

Kerala has about 40 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) today, and the state wants 150 by 2031. For placement officers, that makes GCCs one of the fastest-growing sources of campus recruitment and fresher jobs in Kerala and South India.

This guide is for training and placement officers (TPOs) at engineering, arts and science, and management colleges. It explains what a GCC is and why GCCs hire freshers. It also lists the MNC GCCs in Technopark, Infopark and other Kerala IT parks, city by city, so you can build your company outreach list for the 2026–27 placement season.

What is a GCC (Global Capability Centre)?

A GCC is an office that a foreign company sets up in India, owns fully and runs itself. The staff are the parent company's own employees, and they work only for that company. GCCs were once called captive centres or back offices.

Today's GCCs do core work: software and product engineering, AI and data science, cybersecurity, finance, analytics and R&D. Nissan, Allianz, IBM and Air India all run GCCs in Kerala.

GCC vs IT services company: why the difference matters for placements

A GCC (captive centre)

• Works for: its own parent company only
• Kerala examples: Nissan Digital, Allianz Technology, IBM Software Labs, Air India CODi
• Typical work: product, platform, analytics, finance, R&D
• Hiring style: smaller, skill-based batches; often off-campus or through referrals
• Fresher pay: usually higher than mass recruiters

An IT services company

• Works for: many outside clients
• Kerala examples: TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Cognizant, UST
• Typical work: client projects, support, delivery
• Hiring style: large mass-recruitment drives and national tests
• Fresher pay: standard fresher packages

For TPOs, the practical point is this: GCCs rarely run mass campus drives the way IT services firms do. You usually have to reach them directly, which is why a researched company list matters.

GCC hiring in 2026: the numbers placement officers should know

India's GCCs are on track to hire about 5.1 lakh people in 2026, and freshers are the fastest-growing group. Key figures:

• 5.1 lakh GCC hires projected for 2026 across about 2,120 GCCs in India (Business Today, foundit).
• 30% of GCC hiring is early-career (0–3 years), up 18% year on year. Expansion into Tier 2 cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram is a main driver.
• 64% of new GCC roles need AI, data science or automation skills.
• 52% of GCCs plan to grow headcount in FY27, up from 47% the year before (YourStory, Taggd–CII).

South India dominates this market. Bengaluru has 900+ GCC units, Hyderabad about 515, Chennai 250+ and Coimbatore 75+ (JLL, EY–CII). Kerala is smaller but is now one of the most actively promoted new GCC destinations.

Kerala's GCC landscape in 2026

Kerala has about 40 GCCs employing roughly 40,000 people, split evenly between Thiruvananthapuram (20+) and Kochi (20+), according to the state's ANSR feasibility report (Infopark). The government quotes 45 and aims for 150 GCCs and 2 lakh jobs by 2031 (GKToday).

What changed in 2026:

• A dedicated GCC policy, with SGST reimbursement up to ₹10 crore, six months of rent-free space in government IT parks, and hiring and skilling incentives.
• The Keralam GCC Boilerplate (September 2026), a soft-landing service that helps foreign firms set up quickly (UNI).
• New anchors and expansions: EY GDS now has over 10,000 staff in Kerala and plans to double that in 4–5 years (AIM); Finastra opened a Technopark innovation centre in December 2025.

The report also flags Kerala's strengths for employers: the lowest attrition among major hubs (about half of Bengaluru's), lower salaries and office rents, and over 75,000 STEM graduates a year. Its main weakness is that experienced talent migrates to Bengaluru and abroad, so GCCs here increasingly build teams from freshers.

GCCs in Thiruvananthapuram (Technopark): company list

Technopark, India's first IT park, hosts about 490 companies and 75,000+ professionals. These 14 are foreign companies running their own centres there, which makes them strong targets for campus placement in Trivandrum.

1. EY GDS (UK) · Professional services
   Audit, tax, consulting and tech delivery; about 3,000 staff in Trivandrum.
2. Allianz Technology (Germany) · Insurance
   Insurance technology and IT.
3. Nissan Digital (Japan) · Automotive
   Nissan's first Global Digital Hub.
4. Finastra (UK) · Banking software
   Engineering, data and product; new innovation centre opened December 2025.
5. Oracle (US) · Enterprise software
   Software development.
6. Guidehouse (US) · Consulting
   Healthcare and financial managed services.
7. Envestnet | Yodlee (US) · Fintech
   Financial data platforms.
8. H&R Block (US) · Tax services
   Tax technology.
9. RR Donnelley (US) · Business communications
   Marketing and document services.
10. RM Education (UK) · EdTech
    Education software.
11. Zafin (Canada) · Banking software
    Product engineering.
12. Equifax (US) · Credit data
    Technology and analytics.
13. CareStack (US) · Dental software
    Product engineering.
14. ABC Fitness (US) · Fitness software
    Product engineering.

Not GCCs, though often listed alongside them: TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Quest Global (IT and engineering services), and Kerala-born firms like UST, IBS Software and SunTec. They remain good recruiters, just through different channels.

GCCs in Kochi (Infopark, Kakkanad): company list

Kochi has the larger GCC list, about 27 companies, spread across Infopark Phase I and II and private towers such as WTC Kochi and Caspian Techparks.

Confirmed GCCs in Kochi

Named as Kochi centres in news reports, Wikipedia or a GCC tracker.

1. EY GDS (UK) · Professional services; about 7,000 staff across 4 offices
2. IBM Software Labs (US) · Software, AI and data
3. Air India CODi (India, Tata Group) · Aviation digital and AI
4. KPMG (Netherlands) · Professional services
5. IQVIA (US) · Healthcare data and analytics
6. Invesco (US) · Asset management
7. NOV (US) · Oil and gas equipment
8. Hubbell Burndy (US) · Electrical products
9. Nielsen (US) · Media analytics
10. Conduent (US) · Business process services
11. Equifax (US) · Credit data
12. CareStack (US) · Dental software
13. SOTI (Canada) · Mobile device management
14. ABC Fitness (US) · Fitness software
15. Citizens Financial Group (US) · Banking

Likely GCCs in Kochi (verify before outreach)

Listed in Infopark's own company directory, with a foreign product or enterprise parent.

1. KnowBe4 (US) · Cybersecurity training
2. Zellis (UK) · Payroll and HR software
3. Fragomen (US) · Immigration law
4. OrthoFX (US) · Dental aligners
5. Exor (Italy) · Industrial automation R&D
6. CurrentWare (Canada) · Monitoring software
7. financial.com (FDC Web Technologies) (Germany) · Fintech
8. Prevalent AI (UK) · Cybersecurity AI
9. Network Redux (US) · Web hosting
10. YOUGotaGift (UAE) · Digital gift cards
11. Brennan IT (Australia) · IT managed services
12. In-Tech (Germany) · Automotive engineering

Kochi also has large IT services employers that are not GCCs: TCS, Wipro, Cognizant, HCLTech, UST, QBurst, Experion and IBS Software.

Kozhikode, Thrissur and Kerala's emerging GCC hubs

No large GCCs are publicly named outside Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi yet, but the state's feasibility report rates the next cities for future centres. Colleges in Malabar and central Kerala should watch these.

• Kozhikode (Cyberpark, UL Cyberpark, HiLITE; 82+ companies) · Readiness: high, near term. Best for small AI, R&D and product engineering centres, drawing on NIT Calicut and IIM Kozhikode talent.
• Thrissur (Infopark Thrissur, Koratty) · Readiness: medium. Best for delivery and support centres linked to Kochi.
• Kannur (Cyberpark Kannur, under development) · Readiness: medium, long term. Best for large greenfield campuses.
• Kollam (Technopark Kollam) · Readiness: low. Best for small satellite teams.

Source: ANSR Kerala GCC Feasibility Report 2026. Kerala's draft policy also offers extra incentives to GCCs that set up outside Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Skills GCCs look for in freshers

GCCs hire for specific skills, not degree names, so placement readiness means matching students to the sectors in your target list. Kerala's GCCs cluster in BFSI, technology, healthcare and engineering, and the state report names BFSI as Kerala's largest GCC domain.

Technology and software

Kerala examples: IBM, Oracle, Nissan Digital, CareStack

• Fresher roles: software engineer, QA, cloud and DevOps
• Skills to build: programming (Java, Python, JavaScript), SQL, Git, cloud basics, one real project

AI and data

Kerala examples: IQVIA, Nielsen, Equifax

• Fresher roles: data analyst, ML engineer
• Skills to build: Python, SQL, Excel, Power BI or Tableau, statistics, basic ML

BFSI and fintech

Kerala examples: Allianz, Invesco, Finastra, Citizens

• Fresher roles: analyst, finance and accounting associate
• Skills to build: accounting, Excel, financial basics, attention to detail. B.Com and BBA students fit here.

Professional services

Kerala examples: EY, KPMG, Guidehouse

• Fresher roles: audit, tax, consulting associate
• Skills to build: accounting, communication, MS Office, analytical writing

Cybersecurity

Kerala examples: KnowBe4, Prevalent AI

• Fresher roles: security analyst, SOC associate
• Skills to build: networking, Linux, security fundamentals, certifications such as CompTIA Security+

Engineering R&D

Kerala examples: Exor, In-Tech, NOV, Hubbell

• Fresher roles: design and embedded engineer
• Skills to build: CAD, embedded C, electronics or mechanical core skills

Across all sectors, GCCs also screen for spoken English, clear written communication and problem solving. These are often where Tier 2 and Tier 3 college students lose out, so they are worth training early.

How placement officers can approach GCCs for campus recruitment

GCCs rarely come to campuses on their own, so the TPO has to open the door. A practical sequence:

1. Shortlist 10–15 GCCs from the lists above that match your strongest departments (for example, BFSI GCCs for commerce, tech GCCs for CSE and IT).
2. Check live openings. Infopark lists each company's jobs on its Jobs@Infopark page; also check the company's own careers site and LinkedIn.
3. Find the right contact. Look for the India centre's HR, talent acquisition or campus relations lead on LinkedIn, not the global head office.
4. Send a one-page college profile. Include departments, batch sizes, past placement results and the skills training your students have done.
5. Offer internships first. Many GCCs prefer to test students through internships before running a campus drive.
6. Use Kerala's policy hooks. The state's GCC policy includes skilling and internship support, and the government is promoting industry–academia links. Mention your college's alignment in outreach.
7. Track every contact in one place: company, contact, date, response, next step. A spreadsheet works; a placement relationship tool (next section) scales better.

Don't overlook off-campus and pooled campus drives. Smaller GCCs often prefer one pooled drive across several colleges in the same district.

How MySkillDB helps placement officers win GCC partnerships

MySkillDB is an AI career-readiness and placement platform built in Kerala for colleges. It helps TPOs with the two hardest parts of GCC placements: building recruiter relationships, and getting students job-ready for the specific roles those companies hire for.

1. Manage recruiter relationships in one place

• Placement relationship management: track every target company through a simple funnel, from prospect to first contact, follow-up, and signed partner recruiter.
• HR contacts directory: save each company's hiring contact as you find them, so relationships stay with the college even when placement staff change.
• AI company research: connect an AI assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude to your placement data to find companies hiring interns and freshers that match your students' profiles, then prospect and follow them up.
• TPO Command Center: see student readiness, CV completion and engagement across departments, so you know which batches to put forward to which GCC.

2. Break any job into learnable modules for students

Most students can't tell what "Data Analyst at a GCC" actually requires. MySkillDB's AI takes a job role and breaks it into the skills and tools behind it, then turns those into structured courses.

• Job category courses: AI-curated modules for each job category, which the college reviews before releasing them to selected departments or students.
• Certifications that build up: video lessons with assessments, running from basic to intermediate to advanced, introduced from pre-final year onward.
• Real business problems: projects drawn from partner organisations, so students can show applied work, not just certificates.
• Skill match scoring: each student's skills are compared against a job's requirements, showing gaps to close before an interview.

3. Prepare students to apply and interview

• AI Job Mentor: a 24x7 assistant for questions, or a structured refresher on a role and its skills.
• Interview planner: a preparation plan for any job role.
• Resume Builder and ATS optimisation: CVs formatted to pass applicant tracking systems that GCCs use.
• Video CV Studio: short video profiles that help students stand out to recruiters.

For a GCC like those listed above, this means a TPO can shortlist the company, map its open role into a learning path, train a batch against it, and approach the company with students who already match the requirements.

Frequently asked questions

Which MNC companies in Kerala hire freshers?

GCCs such as EY GDS, IBM, Allianz Technology, Nissan Digital, Finastra, Guidehouse and Equifax hire freshers in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. IT services firms like TCS, Infosys, Wipro and UST also run large fresher drives.

What are the top companies in Technopark and Infopark for campus placement?

For GCC roles, start with the two company lists in this guide. Technopark has about 490 companies and Infopark several hundred, so filter by sector and by whether the company is a foreign GCC, an IT services firm or a startup.

Do GCCs hire from Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges in Kerala and Tamil Nadu?

Yes. Early-career hiring is the fastest-growing part of GCC hiring, and growth in Tier 2 cities is a key reason. Skills and communication matter more than college rank for most roles.

What is the salary for freshers in GCCs?

GCC fresher pay is usually higher than mass IT recruiters, but it varies widely by company and role. Check current offers on company career pages or with recent alumni rather than relying on averages.

Is a GCC job better than an IT services job?

Neither is always better. GCCs offer product exposure and often higher pay; IT services firms offer larger hiring volumes and structured training. A balanced placement plan targets both.

Which cities in South India have the most GCCs?

Bengaluru leads with 900+ GCC units, followed by Hyderabad (about 515) and Chennai (250+). Coimbatore (75+) and Kerala (about 40) are the fastest-rising smaller hubs.

Sources and notes

The company lists were compiled in October 2026 from public sources. Reports count GCCs differently, and no official named list exists, so verify a company's current status and openings before outreach.

• ANSR – Feasibility Study on Establishing GCCs in Kerala (July 2026)
• Infopark – Company A–Z directory
• Wikipedia – Technopark, Trivandrum
• Wikipedia – Infopark Kochi
• Wikipedia – World Trade Center, Kochi
• Flexiple – GCCs in India
• GKToday – Kerala targets 150 GCCs by 2031
• UNI – Keralam GCC Boilerplate
• Analytics India Magazine – EY opens new Kochi office
• Business Today – GCC hiring at 5.1 lakh
• YourStory – GCC hiring outlook FY27
• JLL – India GCC Guide 2026
• EY – Coimbatore GCC report
• Infopark – IBM Software Labs, Kochi
• UNI – Air India Centre of Digital Innovation, Kochi
• Nissan – Global Digital Hub, Technopark
• Green Sheet – Finastra Technopark centre