Haryana Global Capability Centres (GCC) Policy 2026: Employment-Linked CAPEX and OPEX Support for Captive Centres

2 hours ago

5 min read

Sanjay Laul & Co. | Policy Insight

India now hosts around 1,700 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) with more than 2,975 units. Together they employ about 1.9 million professionals and earned roughly USD 64 billion in export revenue in FY24. Haryana, and Gurugram in particular, is one of the main locations, with more than 270 GCC units already operating in the State. To build on this, the Government of Haryana has introduced the Haryana Global Capability Centres Policy 2026, a dedicated five-year framework that aims to attract 100+ new GCCs and create more than 30,000 jobs.

The policy differs from a conventional industrial policy in one important way: its incentive caps are tied to headcount as well as investment. It also deliberately steers new centres towards Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zones and towards districts beyond Gurugram, such as Panchkula and Hisar.

What qualifies as a GCC?

Under the policy, a GCC is a captive centre set up in Haryana by a multinational (or its parent, group, subsidiary or affiliate) to serve the group's internal global operations. Typical functions include R&D, product engineering, IT, analytics, finance and accounting, procurement, supply chain, legal, risk and HR. The centre must serve only group entities, not unrelated third-party clients.

Centres set up under Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), joint venture, hybrid or similar arrangements also qualify, provided they are captive in nature and control eventually or effectively rests with the MNC or its group.

Eligibility conditions

• Commencement window: commercial operations (date of first invoice) must begin on or after 1 January 2026 and within the five-year policy validity.

• Minimum employment: at least 100 employees on payroll or on contract with ESI/PF numbers, within three years of commencing operations.

• Timely application: the application must be filed before commencing commercial operations. Units that began operations between 1 January 2026 and the notification date have two months from notification to apply. This is an important window for centres that have recently gone live.

• Expansion: existing GCCs may claim once during the policy period for expansion at the same location, subject to the usual thresholds (additional FCI of 50%, or 25% with a minimum of INR 125 crore, or above the Mega/Ultra Mega threshold). A separate GST registration and books are generally required.

CAPEX support

Location	CAPEX reimbursement	Ceiling if office is owned	Ceiling if office is leased
Gurugram, non-TOD areas	50% of ECE	INR 3.75 cr per 100 eligible employees or INR 100 cr, whichever is lower	INR 2.50 cr per 100 eligible employees or INR 50 cr, whichever is lower
Gurugram, TOD zones	65% of ECE	INR 3.75 cr per 100 or INR 125 cr	INR 2.50 cr per 100 or INR 75 cr
Any other district	75% of ECE	INR 3.75 cr per 100 or INR 150 cr	INR 2.50 cr per 100 or INR 100 cr

Some key mechanics:

• Eligible Capital Expenditure (ECE) includes building construction and utilities, power back-up, furnishing and fit-out costs, new machinery, IT hardware and software, stamp duty on land or office purchase/lease, External Development Charges (owned buildings only), new captive renewable plants of 100 kW or more, and green building certification costs. Land cost is excluded.

• ECE is recognised from the policy period up to three years after commencement. Investment made up to one year before notification also counts where operations began after 1 January 2026.

• The support is paid in ten annual instalments.

• Eligible employees are direct employees (payroll, or contract with ESI/PF) who have been continuously employed for at least one year. Employees relocating from the group's GCC in another State also count.

• The ceiling uses the highest eligible headcount in the first three years, rounded in blocks of 100: a unit is moved to the next block only if it exceeds the current block by more than 50. For example, 151 employees falls in the 200 block, but 150 stays in the 100 block.

OPEX support

Location	OPEX reimbursement	Duration
Gurugram, non-TOD areas	50%	5 years
Gurugram, TOD zones	65%	7 years
Any other district	65%	9 years

The annual ceiling is INR 0.75 crore per 100 eligible employees or INR 15 crore, whichever is lower, using the same block-rounding rule based on the headcount in the claim year.

Eligible OPEX is designed around how a GCC actually spends money:

• electricity duty;

• lease rentals at 75% of actual rent, capped at 6% of the property's registered-valuer valuation;

• internet bandwidth charges; and

• cloud rental charges.

For bandwidth and cloud charges, the service provider must be registered in India with a valid GSTIN. For a leased, cloud-heavy GCC this OPEX package may be worth more than the CAPEX support.

Mega and Ultra Mega projects may also negotiate customised packages with the Haryana Enterprise Promotion Board (HEPB).

Human resource incentives

• Employment Generation Subsidy (ten years): where Haryana-domicile employees (verified through the Parivar Pehchan Patra) make up at least 15% of the workforce, the State pays 100% + 20% × (local share − 15%) of average monthly gross salary per eligible local employee, capped at INR 1 lakh a year. For women, SC, Divyang, Agniveer and ex-servicemen employees the base is 120% and the cap INR 1.2 lakh, and this applies even below the 15% threshold. A minimum of INR 48,000 per employee applies where salaries are lower.

• HKRN booster: 100% reimbursement of employer and employee EPF contributions for five years for staff hired through the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (each capped at INR 25,000 per employee per year).

• Internships: 50% of stipend, up to INR 15,000 per month for six months, for up to 50 interns per year.

• Public-private training centres with NASSCOM and leading GCCs at three locations in the State.

These HR benefits can be claimed only once per employee in their lifetime.

R&D and innovation

GCCs setting up DSIR/CSIR-recognised R&D centres (up to five centres under the policy) can receive:

• a 50% capital subsidy, capped at INR 50 crore (Ultra Mega), INR 25 crore (Mega) or INR 10 crore (others), paid over five years; and

• 50% of operating costs (research salaries, consumables, conferences and publications), up to INR 2 crore a year for five years.

Applications are allowed up to three years after the R&D centre starts, to accommodate the recognition process. The State will also set up an H-Hub incubator at the HARTRON Innovation Hub in Gurugram.

Institutional support and ease of doing business

• A dedicated Haryana GCC Mission, including a single-window GCC desk in Gurugram for location scouting, regulatory guidance and fast-tracked approvals.

• An integrated matchmaking platform connecting GCCs with real estate, talent, consulting, legal and tax partners.

• Encouragement of "walk-to-work" mixed-use townships, with relaxed land norms for cyber cities.

• A GCC Advisory Council of government, industry and academia.

• Three-shift operations and night shifts for women, labour self-certification, and unrestricted FAR and ground coverage under the amended Building Code.

• Faster incentive payments: 50% within 7 working days of a claim and the balance within 45 working days, with 8% interest on departmental delays.

Points to keep in mind

1. Captive only. Any third-party revenue may put eligibility at risk, so intra-group service agreements and transfer pricing documentation should support captive status.

2. Headcount drives the ceilings. Hiring plans, payroll records and ESI/PF compliance directly determine how much can be claimed.

3. Location matters. Moving from non-TOD Gurugram to a TOD zone or another district raises both the reimbursement rate and the duration of OPEX support.

4. No stacking with other Haryana policies (apart from the MSME and Exports Policy for heads not covered), and a combined Central and State cap of 100% of FCI.