Demand for specialised mid-career professionals in India’s healthcare global capability centres is rising sharply, with about 93% of 67,000 projected job openings in 2026 seeking candidates with three to 12 years of experience, according to Quess Corp’s India Healthcare GCC Outlook 2026 report released on October 23, 2026.
“Hiring nearly doubled last year, and demand for AI and data talent has risen almost 150% since 2023. Yet the defining issue is the talent gap,” said Kapil Joshi, CEO, Quess IT Solutions.
Of the 67,000 projected job openings, nearly 38,391 are for professionals with 3 to 7 years of experience and another 23,856 are for those with 7 to 12 years of experience, the report found, noting that experienced professionals dominate hiring as demand for fresher roles weakens.
Healthcare GCC hiring demand rose from 32,000 roles in 2024 to 63,200 in 2025, an increase of about 97.5%, and demand increased a further 6% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026.
India’s healthcare GCC ecosystem now comprises 155 GCC organisations employing roughly 3.2 lakh professionals, with pharma and MedTech together accounting for 105 of the 155 GCCs and about 2.22 lakh professionals, or nearly 70% of the total workforce.
Bengaluru and Hyderabad together account for 62.2% of the existing workforce and 58.4% of projected 2026 hiring demand, with Bengaluru alone holding a talent base of 1.09 lakh professionals and projected demand for 23,600 roles.
The report noted that the AI and data space has just 1.6 professionals available for every opening, underscoring that the sector’s challenge is specialisation rather than scale.
