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OPINION OCTOBER 23, 2026 | The Indian Eye 12

ment of talent does not necessarily
bring the work home; sometimes the
work moves to the talent. Instead of
transferring engineers and scientists
to American headquarters, compa-
nies may expand their operations in
Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chen-
nai and other Indian innovation cen-
ters.
Such decisions are not driven
by immigration policy alone. They
also reflect market access, corporate
strategy, available skills and operating
costs. Nevertheless, restrictive talent
policies can reinforce the business
case for developing advanced capabil-
ities outside the United States.
Global Capability Centers: From
Cost Savings to Innovation
India’s GCC industry illustrates
this transformation. Originally estab-
lished primarily to deliver support ser- Industry estimates place India’s GCC sector in the tens of billions of dollars in annual economic activity, with continued expansion expected as
vices and reduce operating expenses, more companies establish centers and existing facilities move into higher-value functions (File photo)
many GCCs now perform functions
that were previously concentrated
near multinational headquarters. simply a provider of technical man- Cost remains an advantage, al- and active pharmaceutical ingredients
These include AI development, power, but an increasingly import- though claims of uniform 60–70 per- (APIs). However, moving pharmaceu-
cybersecurity, cloud architecture, ad- ant contributor to global innovation. cent savings require caution. Com- tical production is far more complicat-
vanced engineering, financial analyt- pensation varies substantially by skill, ed than relocating an ordinary assem-
ics, product design, clinical research Artificial Intelligence and the location and employer, while the total bly operation. It requires substantial
support, regulatory documentation New Geography of Innovation cost of a GCC includes infrastructure, capital, validated processes, qualified
and enterprise technology strategy. The growth of GCCs is especially management, security, regulatory scientific personnel, regulatory ap-
Industry estimates place India’s significant for artificial intelligence. compliance and coordination. Never- provals and reliable supply chains.
GCC sector in the tens of billions of As AI becomes central to corporate theless, the combination of competi- Manufacturing costs in the Unit-
dollars in annual economic activity, competitiveness, companies need tive operating costs and technical ca- ed States are often higher than in In-
with continued expansion expected specialized professionals in machine pability provides a strong commercial dia, particularly for labor-intensive,
as more companies establish centers learning, data engineering, cloud in- incentive for continued investment. low-margin generic products. The
and existing facilities move into high- frastructure, model development and precise difference depends on the
er-value functions. Forecasts suggest- cybersecurity. India’s combination of Pharmaceuticals: The Economics product, technology and production
ing a market exceeding $100 billion technical talent established enterprise of Dependence and Resilience scale. Consequently, wholesale relo-
should be understood as projections relationships and expanding digital The pharmaceutical sector pres- cation may not be commercially sus-
rather than realized revenue. infrastructure makes it an important ents an equally compelling example of tainable for every medicine.
The significance of this expansion destination for these activities. US–India interdependence. Accord- A more practical solution is the
extends beyond employment. GCCs According to the 2026 Nasscom– ing to the US Food and Drug Admin- dual-shore pharmaceutical model,
can deepen India’s participation in Zinnov GCC Landscape Report, In- istration, nine out of ten prescriptions under which Indian and American
product design, proprietary research dia hosted 2,117 GCCs, employing ap- dispensed in America are for gener- operations perform complementary
and intellectual property develop- proximately 2.36 million professionals ic medicines, and approximately 40 functions. India can remain an im-
ment. Ownership of resulting intel- and generating $98.4 billion in annual percent of those generic products are portant center for API production,
lectual property may remain with the revenue. The report also identifies manufactured in India. (Ref. OGPS) complex generic synthesis, computa-
multinational parent, but the location AI as a major driver of the industry’s This dependence has major im- tional chemistry, clinical data anal-
of research activity, scientific exper- transformation from service delivery plications for healthcare affordability ysis and regulatory documentation.
tise and technical leadership increas- toward enterprise innovation. and supply security. The Association American facilities can provide se-
ingly matters. These figures are important be- for Accessible Medicines estimates lected high-priority manufacturing,
Alongside established GCCs, cause they demonstrate that India’s that generic and biosimilar medicines sterile production, final packaging,
India is witnessing the development innovation ecosystem is no longer an collectively generated $496 billion in distribution, regulatory coordination
of specialized startups, engineering emerging possibility; it is already op- US healthcare savings during 2025. and strategic inventory capacity.
firms, contract research organizations erating at considerable scale. Amer- These savings reflect the entire ge- This approach can improve sup-
and technology service providers that ican corporations can use Indian fa- neric and biosimilar market, not In- ply-chain resilience while preserving
function as strategic partners to glob- cilities for global product engineering dian manufacturers alone, but they the economics that make generic
al corporations. These enterprises and research while retaining strategic demonstrate why preserving access medicines affordable.
can deliver AI applications, software control of technology platforms and to affordable medicines remains eco- Major multinational pharmaceu-
architecture, pharmaceutical analyt- commercial markets. Meanwhile, In- nomically important. (Ref: Associa- tical companies, including Eli Lilly,
ics and engineering solutions without dian professionals gain experience in tion for Accessible Medicines) Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer and As-
requiring every specialist to relocate sophisticated technologies, strength- American policymakers have traZeneca, have developed substan-
overseas. ening the country’s capacity to devel- valid concerns about reliance on for- tial operations or research capabili-
The result is an evolving economic op its own intellectual property, start- eign pharmaceutical manufacturing, ties in India. Indian pharmaceutical
model in which India is becoming not ups and research enterprises. particularly for essential medicines Continued on next page... >>

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