Jammu, October 10 (Daily Kiran) : Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha addressed the closing session of the Global Capability Centers (GCC) Summit 2026 on Saturday. He stated that the region is poised to emerge as a significant destination for global capability centers, leveraging its youthful talent, improving infrastructure, investor-friendly policies, and a growing innovation ecosystem.
Sinha congratulated the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu, NASSCOM, partner institutions, and the administration for the successful organization of the two-day summit. He urged participants to consider why companies looking for the next talent and innovation hubs should choose Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing the need for collaborative efforts to realize this vision.
Drawing inspiration from the world’s highest railway arch bridge over the Chenab River, Sinha noted that Jammu and Kashmir embodies the confidence and ambition necessary to achieve transformative goals. He likened the confluence of the Chenab River with the Chandra and Bhaga rivers to the spirit of collaboration. He believes that GCCs can create new opportunities for growth and innovation by connecting multinational expertise, capital, and technology with the aspirations and creativity of Jammu and Kashmir’s youth.
The LG remarked, “I see GCCs inspired by this spirit of courage and cooperation, generating power far beyond their individual capabilities.” He pointed out that India boasts over 2,100 GCCs, employing more than 1.9 million professionals and making significant contributions to exports. The increasing number of these centers expanding beyond metropolitan areas into tier-two and tier-three cities indicates that talent is now widely distributed across the country. This presents both an opportunity and an obligation for Jammu and Kashmir to strengthen its institutions, infrastructure, and innovation ecosystem.
Highlighting the future direction of the GCC sector, Sinha noted that the focus has shifted from cost efficiency to excellence and capability. He expressed confidence that Jammu and Kashmir could evolve into a center for unique global innovations emerging from the region.
The LG also emphasized the rapid transformation of Jammu and Kashmir under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. He mentioned that major infrastructure developments and improved connectivity are driving significant industrial investment and the remarkable growth of the startup ecosystem.
Sinha stated, “The industrial revolution we are witnessing in parts of the Jammu region and the Kashmir Valley is a vibrant symbol of the new Jammu and Kashmir. The number of startups has surged from just 69 in 2020 to 1,305 today, marking an increase of over 1,800 percent. When we factor in the energy of young, ambitious graduates from IIM Jammu, IIT Jammu, NIT Srinagar, and other universities, a ready workforce emerges.”
He identified six key advantages that establish Jammu and Kashmir as an attractive GCC destination, including robust financial support, low operational costs, special incentives for leading multinational investors, the return of local talent, first-mover benefits for early entrants in GCCs, and opportunities in specific sectors like agri-tech, tourism-tech, and handicraft digitization.
Presenting a four-pillar roadmap for the next five years, Sinha emphasized talent development through industry-academia partnerships, building trust through reliable implementation, leveraging Jammu and Kashmir’s unique destination advantages, and promoting inclusive growth through a hub-and-spoke development model.
He concluded that GCCs could become an integral pillar of Jammu and Kashmir’s industrial ecosystem over the next decade. The foundation laid during the summit could help build a new, ambitious, and innovation-driven Jammu and Kashmir, fully prepared to welcome global capability centers from around the world.
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