India’s global centres push cities towards smarter offices

Global Capability Centres are becoming a defining force in India’s commercial property market, shifting demand towards higher-quality offices in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. The expansion reflects India’s move up the global corporate value chain, but it is also changing where jobs, investment and infrastructure are concentrated, putting greater pressure on cities to connect office growth with transport, housing and climate resilience.

India’s office market recorded 21.5 million sq ft of gross leasing in the first quarter of 2026, its strongest first-quarter performance on record. GCCs accounted for 45.5% of that activity, ahead of flexible workspace operators. Bengaluru led national leasing with a 24.8% share, followed by Mumbai at 19.5% and Hyderabad at 16.8%.The significance of GCC office demand goes beyond the amount of space absorbed. These centres increasingly house engineering, analytics, finance, research, technology and product functions rather than serving only as lower-cost back offices. That changes the specification of buildings companies seek, increasing demand for reliable power, advanced digital infrastructure, collaboration areas, security systems and amenities that support a larger skilled workforce.The trend is also becoming easier to track. An office-rental index launched by IIM Bangalore and CRE Matrix in June 2026 uses transaction-level data covering nearly one billion sq ft of commercial space, more than 2,000 assets and over 19,000 lease transactions.

The index is intended to provide a clearer benchmark for the rapidly expanding GCC property segment.
For developers, this creates a strong incentive to build Grade-A offices in established business districts and emerging employment corridors. But GCC office demand can also deepen spatial inequality if investment remains concentrated in a small group of technology and financial hubs. Rising office activity can lift surrounding land values and rents, while workers face longer commutes if affordable housing and public transport fail to keep pace.Bengaluru illustrates the tension. The city led India’s first-quarter leasing market, with GCCs contributing a particularly large share of transactions. Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune are also gaining from multinational expansion. Such concentration creates economic opportunity, but it increases dependence on urban systems already dealing with congestion, water stress, flooding and uneven public transport access.
There is a sustainability opportunity within the same transition.

Global occupiers often impose energy, water, waste and building-performance requirements on their office locations.That can encourage developers to adopt more efficient buildings, renewable electricity, better cooling systems and stronger environmental reporting.Yet corporate sustainability standards cannot substitute for city-wide infrastructure planning.
The next phase of GCC office demand will therefore test India’s ability to accommodate high-value employment without reproducing the infrastructure deficits that have accompanied earlier urban expansion. Cities that combine reliable public transport, mixed-income housing, resilient utilities and efficient commercial buildings will be better positioned to convert corporate investment into broader urban gains.For India’s property market, GCCs may remain a major source of office demand. For cities, the more important question is whether that demand can help create better-connected, more inclusive and climate-ready employment districts.

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India’s global centres push cities towards smarter offices