Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir’s industrial landscape could undergo a significant transformation over the next decade, with Global Capability Centres (GCCs) becoming a key driver of investment, employment, and economic growth, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said on Saturday.
Addressing the valedictory session of the two-day J&K GCC Summit at IIM Jammu, he said the Union Territory could emerge as a major GCC destination, backed by its young talent pool, improving infrastructure, investor-friendly policies, and an expanding innovation ecosystem.
He congratulated IIM Jammu, NASSCOM, partner institutions and the administration for successfully organising the summit, urging participants to reflect on a key question about why companies seeking their next talent hub, innovation centre and capacity destination should make Jammu and Kashmir their preferred choice and work together with a strong resolve to make it a reality.
Drawing inspiration from the world’s highest railway arch bridge over the Chenab River, Sinha said Jammu and Kashmir today reflects the confidence and ambition required to pursue transformational goals.
He observed that the Chenab itself, formed through the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers, symbolises the spirit of collaboration.
“In a similar manner, GCCs bring together the global expertise, capital and technology of multinational enterprises with the talent, aspirations and imagination of Jammu Kashmir’s youth to create new opportunities for growth and innovation.
“I see Global Capability Centres in the same spirit of courage and confluence and together they can generate a strength far beyond their separate capabilities,” he said.
The Lt Governor said India is home to more than 2,100 GCCs that employ over 19 Lakh professionals and contribute substantially to exports.
He highlighted that more GCCs are expanding beyond metropolitan centres into Tier-II and Tier-III cities, showing that India’s talent pool is now widely distributed across the country.
He said this presents both an opportunity and a responsibility for Jammu and Kashmir to strengthen its institutions, infrastructure and innovation ecosystem.
Emphasising the GCC sector’s future direction, the Lt Governor said the journey of GCCs has evolved from questions of cost efficiency to excellence and capability.
“The industrial revolution we are witnessing today in parts of the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley is a living symbol of the new Jammu Kashmir. In 2020, there were only 69 startups and that number has now risen to 1,305, a growth of over 1,800 per cent. When the energy of young, ambitious graduates from IIM Jammu, IIT Jammu, NIT Srinagar and other universities of Jammu Kashmir is added to these figures, you see a ready workforce emerging,” he said.
He identified six key advantages that position Jammu Kashmir as an attractive GCC destination, including strong financial support, lower operating costs, special incentives for pioneering multinational investors, the return of local talent, first-mover advantages for early GCC entrants and opportunities in niche sectors such as agri-tech, tourism-tech and handicraft digitisation.
Outlining a four-pillar roadmap for the next five years, the Lt Governor stressed talent development through industry-academia partnerships, building trust through credible implementation, leveraging Jammu Kashmir’s unique destination advantages and promoting inclusive growth through a hub-and-spoke development model.
Expressing confidence in J&K’s future, he said GCCs can become an integral pillar of Jammu Kashmir’s industrial ecosystem over the next decade.
An IIM Jammu spokesman said the summit concluded with deliberations centred on technology and innovation, talent and workforce transformation, investment, and a roadmap to position Jammu & Kashmir as an emerging destination for GCCs.
The summit’s highlight was a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian Institute of Management Jammu and KPMG Advisory Services Private Limited.
The collaboration aims to strengthen industry–academia engagement through academic programmes, executive education, research, consultancy, skill development and industry-oriented learning, contributing to talent development and the growth of the GCC ecosystem in Jammu & Kashmir, the spokesman said.
