Can India's service sector survive US disruption?

India’s long-vaunted services sector has been boosted in recent years by the exponential growth of Global Capability Centres, multinational corporations’ offshore hubs.

- Manishi Raychaudhuri

A photo dated Sept 25 shows Ruthvitch Sharma, left, a student at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, working in a mechanical engineering lab in Hyderabad, India. NYT

(NYT)

However, President Donald Trump's administration is now threatening to dramatically alter the landscape for Indian workers, even as GCCs face several domestic challenges.

By the end of 2024, India had 1,700 GCCs, wholly owned and controlled by their overseas parent companies. GCCs generated over US$64 billion in revenue last year and employed almost 2 million people, accounting for 17.2% of India’s service exports, up from 12.5% in 2015, according to FactSet. India has much to offer global corporations, including a low-cost talent pool of 1.5 million engineering graduates a year, as well as urban workers with English language skills and an efficient digital connectivity infrastructure.