Global companies are leveraging artificial intelligence to transform their Indian technology hubs from traditional back-office operations into innovation centres. According to reports from Reuters, executives from Publicis Groupe's Epsilon, Kimberly-Clark, and Daimler Truck confirmed that automation is enabling staff at their global capability centres to move beyond routine tasks, focusing instead on more complex work and building proprietary technology. Radhakrishnan Kodakkal, head of Daimler Truck Innovation Center India, stated at a Reuters summit that "the number of IPs, the patents and the trade secrets created by (GCCs in India) is already increasing, and AI would accelerate it." However, AI tools that can increasingly handle tasks such as coding have cast doubt on what role these centres will play next, as reported by Reuters.
India's technology hubs have demonstrated significant growth, with Indian GCCs generating approximately ₹8,250 crore ($98.4 billion) in revenue in the last fiscal year, according to a report by Nasscom and consultancy Zinnov. This performance hit industry projections four years ahead of schedule. Additionally, patent filings in India rose 11.3% to over 90,000 in fiscal 2024, with nearly half from multinational companies, though the contribution from Global Capability Centres was not specifically broken out in the data. Executives noted that the contribution of Indian centres is understated, as much of the intellectual property they generate is filed through parent entities in the United States and Europe, as reported by Reuters.
Despite growth potential, India faces significant regulatory bottlenecks in patent processing. As reported by Nasscom, patent filings in India can take five to six months, approximately double the time required in the US. Deena Dayalan, global head of digital operations and cloud transformation at Kimberly-Clark, noted that "At Kimberly-Clark, we do not do any patent filing from India. Whatever we do, we do through (the) U.S. because of the difficulty here." Dayalan added that approval takes another few years, with India having far fewer patent examiners than the US contributing to these delays. High legal costs and procedural ambiguities also deter companies from filing patents locally, according to the industry body. Harsh Kaushik, a New Delhi-based IP lawyer, noted that "at the Indian Patent Office, backlog and manpower shortages have long slowed the pace of examination and grant," but recent moves to put more Patent Office functions online and centralized allocation of applications have eased the filing process.
Despite regulatory challenges, executives remain optimistic about the future of Indian technology hubs. Pratik Nath, managing director of Epsilon India, expressed confidence that "I see more and more IP work happening (here)" and emphasized that the strong foundations built by Indian GCCs would support further growth in high-value work. The large AI-skilled workforce and cost advantages continue to draw investment into these centres despite global uncertainty. Harsh Kaushik noted that recent moves to put more Patent Office functions online and centralized allocation of applications have eased the filing process, with the office also expanding the use of video hearings to improve access for applicants. The convergence of artificial intelligence and biotechnology is expected to further accelerate innovation across healthcare, agriculture, and industrial applications, as reported by Precedence Research.
