From Regional Talent to National Strength: J&K’s GCC Opportunity

Prof. B. S. Sahay
Director,
IIM Jammu
A nation’s progress becomes meaningful when its young people can see a future for themselves within it. For Jammu and Kashmir, that future must include the chance to do globally significant work from the places they call home. The J&K Global Capability Centres Summit 2026, to be held on 9-10 October at IIM Jammu, offers an occasion to turn this aspiration into a practical programme of education, investment and employment.
Organised by the Institute and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, the Summit will bring together more than 300 participants to discuss talent, technology, investment and a GCC ecosystem for the Union Territory. Its significance will rest less on the discussions than on the commitments it brings to fruition. The ambition draws strength from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047, which places skilling, innovation and entrepreneurship, and therefore young people, at the centre of India’s transformation. For Jammu and Kashmir, the task is to give that vision a regional form: preparing youth for emerging industries, connecting institutions with global enterprise, and contributing more fully to the knowledge economy.
Global Capability Centres can be an important part of this endeavour. They perform specialised functions for international companies, from technology and finance to analytics and research, and their value extends beyond employment to the expertise and professional standards they cultivate. Yet when a company considers a new location, one question is decisive: can this place consistently provide people capable of high-quality work? Infrastructure, connectivity and incentives matter, but their worth depends on talent. The GCC conversation therefore belongs as much in classrooms as in boardrooms.
Here Jammu and Kashmir has a solid foundation. IIM Jammu, IIT Jammu and AIIMS Jammu bring management, technology and healthcare expertise into one Union Territory, joined by NIT Srinagar, the Universities of Jammu and Kashmir, the Islamic University of Science and Technology, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, and a wider network of colleges, polytechnics and training institutions. The challenge is to turn this presence into shared capability: management education can strengthen organisational competence, engineering institutions deepen technical skill, and medical institutions explore healthcare technology. Together they could help the region develop specialisations suited to its strengths, though that will demand careful research and sustained engagement with industry.
That the Summit is hosted on an academic campus is therefore meaningful: it places education at the centre of economic development and recognises higher education as an active partner in nation-building. IIM Jammu’s work with the Government, through Mission YUVA and the policy research of its Centre for Innovation and Transformation in Governance, shows how academic expertise can serve public priorities, and the Summit can extend that cooperation to industry. Cooperation must also anticipate the changing nature of work. As artificial intelligence reshapes business processes, education must give greater weight to analytical judgement, domain knowledge, responsible use of technology and the ability to evaluate automated outputs.
With this in view, the Summit should be judged against four outcomes. The first is a clear picture of what industry needs. Employers should say which roles they plan to fill, what skills they require, how many people they expect to hire, and what preparation turns a recruit into a productive colleague. That information should guide universities, technical institutions and skills departments, informing curriculum revision, internships, faculty development and targeted training.
Understanding needs, however, is only the beginning; the second outcome is a credible path to the first investments. A company entering an unfamiliar location may hesitate to build a large centre at once. A pilot team of 30 to 50 professionals is a more manageable start, provided suitable facilities, reliable connectivity and administrative support are in place, and academic or incubation spaces could house such teams while permanent premises are prepared. For the region, a successful pilot would be practical proof that it can support global operations. The Summit should help identify prospective partners and set the conditions under which such teams can begin and grow, for confidence builds when a promising proposition becomes a working enterprise.
Such confidence, in turn, needs a reliable evidence base, the third outcome. Companies need credible assessments of talent, costs, connectivity and infrastructure. Jammu and Kashmir should develop an independently assessed investment profile and keep it current. The exercise would also help the administration find gaps and direct resources where they are most needed, while universities can contribute through workforce studies and employer consultations.
Evidence and intent must finally be anchored in the fourth outcome, an accountable plan for implementation. Recommendations need named owners, realistic deadlines and a clear review process. The Summit’s deliberations should yield a working agenda that tracks training partnerships, pilot centres, investor facilitation and infrastructure preparation. Memoranda of understanding offer a useful framework, but their value lies in delivery. A partnership acquires substance when students receive relevant training, employers recruit, facilities open and commitments are honoured, and the quality of that follow-through will decide whether the Summit becomes a milestone.
Nowhere will that follow-through matter more than for the younger generation. A growing GCC ecosystem could open pathways to internships, industry projects, mentoring and careers in technology, finance, analytics and research. Students would experience international work practices while building the communication, teamwork and problem-solving skills employers seek. These opportunities must reach young people in smaller towns and rural communities as well, through targeted training, transparent recruitment and support for women’s participation. Professionals who have left Jammu and Kashmir may find reasons to return, while aspiring entrepreneurs, exposed to global business, may gain the confidence to start ventures of their own.
The deeper gain would be a stronger sense of possibility. A young person should be able to imagine a future as a researcher, technologist, business leader or entrepreneur, and find a credible path towards it. Education would then become a more tangible source of opportunity, and families would see their investment in learning bear fruit closer to home. The regional economy would benefit too: new professional activity creates demand for local services and supports smaller businesses, and as institutions grow closer to industry, talent, investment and innovation can reinforce one another.
This is where the GCC opportunity becomes a question of nation-building. India’s development gains strength when more regions contribute to innovation, productivity and skilled employment, and Jammu and Kashmir has the institutions and the aspiration to take part. What remains is to bring them together in a coherent, sustained programme of action. The Summit will conclude within days, but the responsibility it creates will endure. Its promise must travel from the conference hall to the classroom, from the classroom to the workplace, and from institutional commitments to opportunities young people can grasp.
As an educator, I would count its finest achievement as the confidence it gives a young graduate to say: “I can build my future here.” Behind those words stand years of study, a family’s sacrifices and the hope of meaningful work close to home. Helping that hope become reality is a responsibility IIM Jammu shares with government and industry, and one we must carry forward with conviction. Viksit Bharat will take shape through countless such journeys, as individual capability becomes collective national strength. If this Summit helps a generation build global careers while remaining rooted in its homeland, it will have done something enduring: given young people a greater stake in their region’s future and a stronger role in the making of the nation.