According to a new report by Sattva Consulting and India Data Insights, India is home to more than half of the world’s GCCs, placing the country at the centre of an opportunity to expand corporate-led social impact through technology, talent and global expertise.
Titled “₹3,661 Crore CSR Spending is Only the Beginning”, the report found that GCC CSR spending grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.4 per cent, compared with 15 per cent growth in overall CSR spending. Pure GCCs were the primary drivers of this expansion, with their CSR investments increasing 8.6 times over the decade, while investments by Hybrid GCCs grew 5.5 times.
Based on Ministry of Corporate Affairs data covering FY2014-15 to FY2024-25, the report analyses around ₹24,000 crore in CSR spending across 906 confirmed GCCs. It found that GCCs broadly follow the wider corporate CSR landscape, particularly in their focus on education and healthcare.
Education remains the largest area of focus, featuring among the top CSR priorities across 11 of 13 industries. During FY23-FY25, education accounted for 34–52 per cent of CSR spending across most sectors. This emphasis reflects the talent-intensive nature of GCC operations, with investments directed towards strengthening future talent pipelines through skilling, capacity building and digital education aligned with long-term workforce requirements.
Environmental interventions are also gaining prominence. GCCs directed ₹228 crore towards water management and afforestation, reflecting the growing relevance of resource management as data centre requirements and operational footprints expand. Water stewardship is becoming increasingly important amid rising data centre needs.
However, innovation remains an underutilised area of GCC-led social investment. Despite their engineering, product development and technical capabilities, GCCs allocated only ₹435 crore, or 4 per cent of their total CSR spending during FY23-FY25, to innovation-linked projects. The report identifies an opportunity to use these capabilities more extensively to support technology-driven development and help India leapfrog conventional development pathways.
Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, CEO of Sattva Consulting, said, “The next phase of GCC-led social impact in India will be about moving beyond capital to capability. GCCs have a unique combination of technology, talent, technical expertise and global experience that can be brought to bear on some of India’s most complex development challenges. Translational research and innovation, preparing talent for the future of work, and improving quality of life in our cities represent three important opportunities to do this. The opportunity now is to connect these capabilities more deliberately with India’s development priorities and create solutions that can scale”.
The report also highlights the geographic concentration of GCC CSR spending, with more than 65 per cent of the funds deployed in Tier-1 cities, including Bengaluru, Pune, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Nashik was the only Tier-2 district among the top 10, receiving ₹104 crore during FY23-FY25.
This concentration points to an opportunity to extend GCC-led social impact beyond India’s largest urban centres and connect corporate resources with development needs in other locations. With GCC CSR spending reaching ₹3,661 crore in FY2024-25, the report identifies technology, talent development, translational research, innovation, urban quality of life and environmental stewardship as areas where these centres can strengthen their contribution to India’s development priorities.
The full report is available at www.sattva.co.in/publication/gcc-csr/.
Sattva Consulting is a global impact consulting firm from India. Since 2009, it has engaged with communities, businesses and governments to achieve societal impact at scale. The firm believes that civil society, business and government all have a critical role to play in building an equitable and sustainable world. It partners with stakeholders through advisory and orchestration services, knowledge and data platforms built as public goods for the ecosystem, and collaborative solutions and partnerships. More information is available at sattva.co.in.
India Data Insights (IDI), an initiative by Sattva Consulting, aims to empower India’s development sector with actionable, ready-to-use data insights to support sharper decisions and maximise impact. Built as a public good, IDI consolidates public data across Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) practice areas on a unified platform, offering visualisations, interactive features, blogs, and ready-to-use charts and dashboards. More information is available at India Data Insights, indiadata insights.com.
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