The sector is deliberately moving away from volume hiring, focusing instead on securing high-value talent in AI, platform engineering, and cybersecurity, exacerbating critical skill shortages across the country, according to a report by staffing and workforce solutions provider Quess Corp.
“Q1FY26 marked a steady return to growth for India’s GCC sector, with hiring volumes increasing by 8-10% quarter-on-quarter after a muted Q4…Rather than scaling teams broadly, organisations are now hiring selectively for skills that drive innovation and long-term value.
“Companies are actively seeking professionals who bring expertise in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data engineering. These roles are no longer seen as support functions, they are at the heart of digital transformation,” Quess IT Staffing CEO Kapil Joshi said.
High-growth verticals like BFSI, Manufacturing, Automotive & Energy, and Technology & Hardware drove demand during Q1 FY26.
The Manufacturing, Automotive, and Energy sector registered the highest demand growth at an impressive 31% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), fueled by investments in smart factories, Industrial IoT, and electric vehicle (EV) platforms. The BFSI sector (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance) continued to be the largest hirer, commanding 20% of the total GCC market share and growing 15% QoQ. Demand in BFSI is primarily driven by AI-led credit risk analysis, cybersecurity, and digital lending. Technology & Hardware logged a 16% QoQ growth.
Conversely, sectors sensitive to global economic headwinds saw hiring contracts. Hospitality, Travel & Logistics experienced the sharpest decline, with demand falling 25% QoQ, followed by Construction & Engineering, which dropped 15 %.
Geographically, while Tier-1 cities continued to dominate overall hiring volumes, Tier-2 cities emerged as high-growth spokes, challenging long-standing location orthodoxies and diversifying the country’s tech talent footprint, the report said.
While Bengaluru remains the dominant GCC hub with a 29 % market share, it recorded the slowest growth among major metros at 3.20 %.
Pune (+10.60 %) and Chennai (+9.40 %) exhibited the fastest growth rates among Tier-1 cities.
Tier-2 cities significantly outpaced Tier-1 growth. Coimbatore led the pack with a remarkable 34.10 % QoQ increase in hiring demand, followed by Kochi (+27.60 %) and Ahmedabad (+24.60 %).
However, despite the growth, Tier-2 cities still face acute talent shortages.
“Tier-2 cities are still struggling to meet the depth requirements of advanced digital roles, such as full-stack DevOps, GenAI engineering, and L3+ cybersecurity. As a result, up to 50 % of complex mandates are being re-routed back to Tier-1 locations, where talent density, peer networks, and marquee projects remain key magnets for senior professionals,” the report said.
In domains such as AI, data science, and platform engineering, the talent shortfall remains significant, ranging from 25 % to over 40 %, depending on the role. These shortages are slowing down hiring cycles and making it harder for companies to build high-performance teams at the pace they require, Joshi said.
Bengaluru maintained its position as the highest-paying market due to deeper talent pools and greater role maturity. Top offers in metros continue to exceed Rs 50-60 lakh for niche skills.