India's global capability centre (GCC) ecosystem is well-positioned to drive the country's next phase of innovation-led growth by partnering with startups, incubators and young innovators, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) Mission, Director Deepak Bagla said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the GCC Conclave -- organised by AIM, NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) -- on Innovation 2026 here, Bagla highlighted the growing role of GCCs in India's innovation journey and called for closer engagement between industry and the country's innovation ecosystem.

"As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often emphasised, 'Jai Anusandhan' must become the driving force of a developed India. Over the last decade, Atal Innovation Mission has worked towards this vision by building India's innovation pipeline --from young innovators in more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs to startups and grassroots innovators supported through over 100 incubators," he said.

"Today, GCCs have established India as a global hub for technology, engineering and product innovation. By bringing these strengths together, we can nurture talent, accelerate entrepreneurship, enable industry adoption and build globally competitive enterprises that contribute to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047," Bagla added.

STPI Director General Arvind Kumar said India's GCC ecosystem, comprising over 2,100 centres generating nearly USD 100 billion in revenue, reflects the country's growing technological capabilities.

He noted that STPI has played a foundational role in building India's technology infrastructure and policy framework since 1991 and said the partnership with AIM would help connect GCCs with startups and innovators across the country.

Dr. Sanjay Tyagi, Director of STPI Bengaluru, said Bengaluru has emerged as India's leading hub for Global Capability Centres and stressed that stronger collaboration between startups, incubators and GCCs could accelerate technology commercialisation and entrepreneurship.

The conclave saw participation from leading multinational technology organisations, including Intel, IBM, Bosch, Amazon, SAP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, CGI, Shell, Mercedes-Benz, Philips, Morgan Stanley, NVIDIA, Samsung, SanDisk, Wipro and Yahoo, along with representatives from Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs), Atal Incubation Centres (AICs), Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs), STPI Centres of Entrepreneurship, the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) and other ecosystem stakeholders.