India Tech Hiring Recovers, GCCs Shift to Niche AI, Cloud Skills, TechGig

India’s technology hiring market is showing signs of recovery after several months of slowdown, with overall active technology job openings in August rising 3% month-on-month to 109,000, according to Xpheno’s latest Active Tech Jobs Outlook. This extends a recovery that began in July, with active demand up over 17% since June and 6% year-on-year.

However, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), a significant hiring engine, are moving in a different direction. GCC hiring declined 6% month-on-month to 17,000 active openings in August, even as IT services firms saw a 5% growth during the same period. Despite this monthly dip, GCC hiring remains 21% higher than a year ago, suggesting a moderation in recruitment rather than a change in long-term expansion plans.

Kamal Karanth, Co-founder of Xpheno, noted that GCC active openings have remained within the 17,000–18,000 range over the past four months. “This is a typical monthly moderation up and down that happens when the demand is broad-based across a large number of enterprises contributing small counts each,” he said.

Quality Over Quantity in GCC Hiring

Industry executives suggest the contrasting trends point to a change in hiring strategy. Neeti Sharma, CEO of TeamLease Digital, highlighted that GCC hiring is being reset after a strong run, with companies becoming more selective.

She expects GCCs to hire 4.5–5 lakh professionals this year, but with a significant shift: 75–80% of hiring is now for experienced professionals and niche specialists, focusing on leaner teams with deeper expertise.

Sukanya Roy, Partner and Head of India GCC Business at Zinnov, remarked, “A mature GCC is increasingly defined by the sophistication of the work it owns and the specialisation of its talent, not by the size of its team.” This indicates a broader shift where capability is becoming a stronger marker than employee numbers.

AI and Niche Skills Drive Demand

The biggest change within GCCs is not the pace of hiring but the type of roles sought. Sharma observed that nearly two out of every three openings now require skills in AI, data, or automation, with a preference for experienced professionals over fresh graduates.

The strongest demand areas include generative AI, MLOps, cybersecurity, cloud engineering, platform engineering, and data engineering. Limited talent in these areas is pushing salaries 25–30% higher than comparable technology roles.

Zinnov also noted that engineering R&D remains the largest hiring area, accounting for 30.8% of demand, followed by AI, data, cloud, cybersecurity, and platform engineering. Companies are increasingly integrating these as part of a single technology stack.

While AI is changing the mix of talent by automating routine work and increasing demand for professionals who can build, deploy, secure, and manage AI systems, Karanth believes large-scale changes to talent strategies due to AI are still 2-3 years away.

Sharma added that only about one in five GCC leaders believe AI can significantly replace human talent today, with most still evaluating its business impact.

Sharma expects hiring to strengthen over the next two quarters, concentrated in AI, cybersecurity, cloud, platform engineering, and digital product roles. Going forward, GCC growth will be measured more by the quality of talent and capabilities built rather than by headcount.