Overview

• CII published a Suggested Framework for a National GCC Policy along with a near-final Model State Policy, with the package slated for discussion at the GCC Business Summit in Vizag on September 17.
• The plan seeks a legislatively backed National GCC Council to set strategy, ensure cross-ministry coordination, align Centre and states, and monitor measurable outcomes for jobs, innovation, exports, and regional spread.
• Recommendations include creating Digital Economic Zones with harmonised rules and plug-and-play Grade-A space, ESG-linked incentives, and stronger industry–academia pipelines with centres of excellence in AI, cybersecurity, engineering R&D, and product innovation.
• CII projects expansion from roughly 1,800 GCCs to 5,000 by 2030, enabling 20–25 million jobs and $470–$600 billion in economic impact, building on a current base of about 2.16 million employees and ~$68 billion in GVA.
• Policy measures proposed cover concessional tax regimes for R&D and IP, recalibrated safe-harbour markups, GST clarifications, and single-window investor services, while the report flags a widening digital skills gap and reported concerns about overlap with India’s IT services exports.