India’s Global Capability Centres are increasingly shifting towards AI-led operations, with AI architects earning up to Rs 108.6 lakh annually. A TeamLease Digital report highlights salary premiums for AI skills, rising generative AI adoption and higher projected salary increments across GCCs
Published Date – 26 October 2026, 02:58 PM
New Delhi: Nearly 44 per cent of India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) now own platforms, products, artificial intelligence adoption and business-critical outcomes, a report said on Monday.
The report from TeamLease Digital said AI Architect roles command a median fixed pay of up to Rs 108.6 lakh per annum at 15 years and above of experience, while Principal Data Scientists earn up to Rs 92.8 lakh per annum.
The pay premiums are following ownership, with AI-Core roles offering starting salaries 2.5 to 3 times higher than AI-Support positions from the earliest stages of a career.
The report showed that GCCs are steadily moving from delivery centres to AI capability hubs, and the pay for digital talent is moving along with them.
GenAI, ML and data science remain the highest-return skilling pathways for salary acceleration in GCCs.
The country has over 2.5 lakh AI and machine learning professionals and over 1,200 AI-enabled GCCs and is ranked first in global AI hiring. Nearly 83 per cent of GCCs are scaling generative AI initiatives, 70 per cent are adopting hybrid AI models and 58 per cent are investing in agentic AI technologies.
The 2026 salary increment in GCCs stands at 10.4 per cent, ahead of the 9.1 per cent India Inc. average, and AI, ML, cyber and cloud skills carry a 30–40 per cent pay premium because demand outpaces supply.
For early and mid-career roles, at 0–2 years of experience, AI-Core roles earn a median fixed pay of Rs 10.8 LPA for a data scientist to Rs 13.2 LPA for a GenAI engineer.
“As these centres take on the thinking, ownership and accountability behind AI, India is becoming central to how enterprises across the world transform,” said Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital.
The next phase of GCC growth will be led less by the scale of headcount and more by judgement, governance and the ability to turn AI into business outcomes, Sharma added.
