At TiEcon Mangaluru 2026, Deloitte’s South Asia CEO, Romal Shetty, shared that the company plans to hire about 50,000 more people in India.
Shetty shared that Deloitte is looking at Mangaluru as a possible expansion location, especially given the growing importance of Tier 2 cities as GCCs (Global Capability Centre) continue to expand across India.
“Deloitte has 140,000 people in the country. One in every four Deloitte employees in the world is in India or is an Indian. We will hire about 50,000 more people. We came very close to Mangaluru. Mangaluru has talent. We will come to Mangaluru, no doubt, it is only a question of time,” said Shetty.
“India is a powerhouse of GCCs. Fifty per cent of all global GCCs are in India. There is still a lot of potential here, especially from a Tier II and Tier III city point of view,” Shetty added. He explained that even if tier 2 cities are not points of initial entry, they will play a major role in the expansion of different GCCs.
For better expansion of GCCs, Shetty proposed the creation of digital economic zones that combine GCCs, GPU-based data centres, startups and academia with plug-and-play infrastructure.
“Opening a GCC can take six months, but it should take only two weeks,” Shetty elaborated, pointing out why the friction in setting up operations needs to be reduced.
Shetty also discussed various infrastructure challenges, particularly energy and water requirements for data centres. He shared that Mangaluru has strong fundamentals, including talent availability and real estate. Shetty also referenced the systems set up in the USA, emphasising that universities must work more closely with corporates and government to build a stronger ecosystem.
