Pune, September 2026: Maharashtra’s technology landscape is entering a new phase with the state’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) Policy 2025, which introduces a targeted incentive framework for global enterprises establishing or expanding captive operations. While Maharashtra’s IT & ITeS Policy 2023 created a broad baseline for technology enterprises, the GCC policy addresses the distinct capital expenditure, high-tier talent, R&D, and commercial leasing dynamics of Global Capability Centres.
The critical distinction for corporate leaders is that the GCC Policy 2025 does not replace the 2023 IT & ITeS Policy. Instead, it builds upon that foundational architecture. Eligible GCCs can continue to access established institutional benefits under the 2023 framework while unlocking a specialized suite of incentives scaled specifically to GCC operations. For multinational corporations evaluating Maharashtra—and particularly Pune’s technology corridors—this creates a comprehensive two-tier incentive ecosystem.
Targeted Scope: Filtering for High-Value Captives
Under the 2023 IT & ITeS Policy, Maharashtra focused on the broader technology sector, covering IT-enabled services, emerging technologies, data centres, and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics). Its primary objective was wide-scale employment generation and digital infrastructure development.
The 2025 GCC Policy narrows its focus strictly to high-value, captive global operations. Underscoring this shift in value, the operational guidelines explicitly exclude third-party Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units, customer support call centres catering to external clients, and pure-play sales or trading entities. To qualify, operations must be dedicated captive setups driving core capabilities such as artificial intelligence, product engineering, cybersecurity, data analytics, treasury management, and engineering research and development (ER&D).
Categorisation is determined by Fixed Capital Investment (FCI in plant and machinery) or direct employment, spanning Small, Medium, Large, Mega, and Ultra Mega tiers. Furthermore, setting up a new GCC requires dedicated, separate premises; simple internal seat additions within an existing facility do not qualify as a new establishment.
Capital Subsidy vs. Rental Assistance: An Operational Choice
A core fiscal enhancement in the 2025 policy is the GCC-specific capital subsidy, offering up to 20% of eligible investment in plant and machinery, disbursed across five equal annual instalments:
- Small GCC: Capped at ₹10 crore
- Medium GCC: Capped at ₹20 crore
- Large GCC: Capped at ₹50 crore
- Mega GCC: Capped at ₹100 crore (with customised packages evaluated for Ultra Mega projects)
Recognising that most GCCs establish operations in leased Grade-A commercial office space rather than building owned campuses, the policy introduces an alternative: eligible GCCs must choose between the capital subsidy or rental assistance—the two benefits are mutually exclusive.
For Pune (classified alongside Mumbai under Zone I), eligible new GCCs can claim rental assistance of 10% of eligible actual rent (or Ready Reckoner rates, whichever is lower) for up to five years. Annual caps scale from ₹1 crore for Small GCCs up to ₹4 crore for Mega GCCs. This gives companies moving into Pune’s key enterprise micro-markets substantial operational expenditure relief without requiring heavy real estate capital commitments.
Direct Subsidies for High-End Talent and Diversity
Unlike earlier frameworks that focused on basic technical training reimbursements, the 2025 policy directly incentivises advanced talent acquisition.
In Zone I, eligible GCCs can receive a salary subsidy equivalent to 40% of the salary component exceeding ₹1 lakh per month, capped at ₹50,000 per month per employee for up to three years. To maintain targeted fiscal deployment, this subsidy is subject to an annual cap of up to 100 employees per GCC unit. For centres hiring specialized data scientists, machine learning engineers, and system architects, this provides meaningful payroll offsets.
Where a GCC meets prescribed diversity thresholds (such as maintaining a 50% workforce composition of women and persons with disabilities), the subsidy rate increases by an additional 10%, scaling to 50% in Zone I with an elevated cap of ₹60,000 per employee per month. GCCs can also access stipend support of up to ₹10,000 per month per intern under applicable state skill-development schemes, accelerating early-career talent pipelines.
R&D, Academic Partnerships, and Operational Continuity
Research and development incentives are also significantly more concrete under the 2025 framework. Eligible GCCs allocating at least 2% of their FCI toward R&D can claim a 25% reimbursement on eligible operational R&D expenditure—up to ₹50 lakh annually, capped at ₹2 crore over four years. Importantly, GCCs undertaking joint research initiatives with recognized universities or higher education institutions within Maharashtra receive an additional 10% subsidy bonus. For Pune, home to a dense network of premier engineering, computational, and research institutes, this creates a direct incentive to build institutional industry-academia research hubs.
Operating cost measures also include:
- Power tariff subsidies of ₹1 per unit in Zone I for five years (subject to an annual ceiling of ₹20 lakh).
- Electricity-duty exemption for 10 years.
- 50% statutory fee reimbursement for domestic and international patent filings (capped at ₹50 lakh per unit).
To ensure long-term value creation, the operational guidelines require beneficiary GCCs to maintain a mandatory operative period of at least 10 years from the issuance of their first Registration Certificate, backed by annual operational and statutory compliance filings. Existing centres expanding in Pune can also qualify by demonstrating a minimum 25% net increase in Gross Fixed Capital Investment alongside a 25% net addition in permanent non-supervisory headcount.
The Enduring Role of the 2023 IT & ITeS Baseline
The specialized GCC incentives operate alongside the overarching structural protections of the IT & ITeS Policy 2023. Eligible GCCs retain access to:
- Stamp duty concessions and exemptions based on zone and IT park categorization.
- Additional Floor Space Index (FSI) for designated parks.
- Open access power procurement and industrial property tax parity.
- Permissibility for 24×7×365 continuous operations under formal industry status.
- Dedicated statutory facilitation via MAITRI’s single-window clearance cell.
Strategic Outlook
Maharashtra’s target is to attract 400 new GCCs and create four lakh high-skilled jobs through 2030. The structural divergence between the two policies is distinct: the IT & ITeS Policy 2023 built the foundational infrastructure for technology services, while the GCC Policy 2025 creates targeted financial mechanisms to attract global corporate headquarters, deep-tech engineering, and strategic decision-making centers. For Pune, this two-tier model positions the city not merely as a delivery outpost, but as India’s primary locus for high-value captive innovation.
