AI, Data and Cybersecurity Now Make Up 30% of Tech Hiring at India's Capability Centres

The increase came while overall hiring went the other way. Total tech hiring demand at the centres, the in-house technology and operations units that multinationals run in India, fell 3.5% from the previous quarter, Quess said in its India GCC Tech Talent Landscape report for the second quarter of the 2026-27 financial year. Companies are hiring fewer people overall and putting a larger share of their openings into AI and security work, and the report says the supply of qualified people is well short of that demand.

Quess estimated the talent supply gap at 38% to 42% in AI, data and analytics and at 30% to 35% in cybersecurity. Its previous report, covering April to June, had put the AI and data gap at 36% to 40%.

AI, data and analytics rose from 16.7% to 19.7% of tech hiring at the centres, with demand for those roles up about 14% on the quarter. Cybersecurity and risk management rose from 9.1% to 10.6% of demand, with 12% growth. Software and digital engineering remained the largest job family at 22%. Within the AI and security categories, demand for applied data science and model operations grew 19%, and demand for cloud security and AI-infused architecture roles rose 21%.

The report said AI and generative AI skill requirements rose in all eight sectors it tracks. Technology and product centres had the highest share of postings asking for those skills, 32%, up from 27% in the first quarter. Pharma and healthcare rose 5 percentage points to 23%, and professional services and consulting rose 4 points to 22%.

Several sectors cut hiring overall even as their AI requirements grew. Hiring fell 24% at telecom and network centres, 9% in manufacturing and industrial, and 8% in banking, financial services and insurance, according to the report.

The geography of hiring is also changing. Tier-2 cities increased capability centre hiring by 13% on the quarter, lifting their share to about 14%, with Coimbatore growing about 30%. Quess said job postings in Coimbatore in the first week of September were more than 200% higher than in the same week of August. Bengaluru remained the largest hub with 22.6% of demand. Pune was the only Tier-1 metro to grow, at 2%, while Hyderabad fell 10% and Mumbai 9%.

Advanced skills remain concentrated in the big cities, however: 87% to 88% of advanced-skill hiring takes place in Tier-1 locations, the report found. Quess recommended that employers fill gaps through reskilling and internal moves, such as shifting data scientists into model operations and cybersecurity analysts into cloud security.

Quess estimates India's active base of capability centres at 2,250 to 2,400, up 5% to 6% on the quarter, and projects that their workforce will reach 2.7 million to 2.8 million by 2030.