Jammu: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday invited industry leaders to establish Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in Jammu and Kashmir, assuring them of government support to facilitate investment, simplify business operations and create quality employment opportunities for local youth.
Addressing the inaugural session of the J&K GCC Summit 2026 at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu virtually from New Delhi, Abdullah said the Union Territory could emerge as a competitive destination for GCC companies by developing a business-friendly ecosystem and leveraging its skilled workforce, educational institutions, climatic conditions and connectivity.
“We have to make Jammu and Kashmir a place that is competitive, a place that is attractive to do business, a place where you can make money, and a place where we can compete with the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities around the country,” the chief minister said, calling on companies to explore the region’s investment potential.
He assured industry representatives that the government was committed to making it easier for businesses to establish and operate profitably in Jammu and Kashmir, emphasising that commercial viability would be central to attracting and retaining investors.
“Whatever we can do in the government to make your journey easier, to ensure that you’re able to establish here easily and also profitably, please rest assured that at the highest levels in the government, we are committed to making your journey easy,” Abdullah said.
The chief minister said the government had already taken steps to improve the business environment, including the passage of comprehensive Ease of Doing Business legislation during the recent session of the Legislative Assembly. The legislation had received the Lieutenant Governor’s assent and become law, he said, adding that its effective implementation would be critical to achieving the intended results.
He said the government would remain open to feedback from industry and make further improvements wherever necessary to address the concerns of investors.
The two-day summit, themed Unlocking J&K’s GCC Potential for Building Growth Ecosystem and Catalysing Investment, brings together representatives of government, industry and academia to explore opportunities for establishing GCCs and expanding Jammu and Kashmir’s participation in India’s growing GCC ecosystem.
Abdullah said the immediate success of the summit should not be measured by the number of centres established in the short term, but by whether it created a foundation for sustained engagement between Jammu and Kashmir and the industry.
“We’d be quite happy to have one, first GCC. One will lead to five. Five will lead to ten. And the story will grow from there,” he said.
He said investors should choose Jammu and Kashmir because of its economic potential and business prospects rather than sympathy for the challenges the region had faced in the past.
Acknowledging that Jammu and Kashmir continued to face a perception challenge stemming from its history, Abdullah said the government was working to expand economic opportunities across manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and other emerging sectors.
He drew a parallel between the evolution of GCCs in India and the region’s own economic journey over the past three to three-and-a-half decades, saying the growing discussion about Jammu and Kashmir as a potential GCC destination reflected the emergence of new opportunities.
The chief minister said GCCs had evolved from call centres and business process outsourcing operations into centres of innovation, specialised capabilities, technical expertise and enterprise.
He said Jammu and Kashmir did not need to replicate the growth trajectories of established GCC hubs such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, but could learn from their experience and develop a model suited to its own circumstances.
“Coming late to the party is disappointing, but it is not always disadvantageous. We can learn from the experiences of others. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to use it better,” he said.
Abdullah also pointed to the rising cost of doing business in larger cities, saying this could create opportunities for emerging destinations if they offered companies an attractive and economically sustainable alternative.
Highlighting the region’s educational infrastructure, Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir had a network of higher education institutions capable of supplying a skilled workforce to technology-driven businesses.
He referred to IIM Jammu, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jammu, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, the University of Jammu, the University of Kashmir and the Islamic University of Science and Technology as institutions producing talented and educated young people.
However, he said many of these young people were compelled to seek employment outside the region, including in the GCC sector, because of limited opportunities at home.
Establishing GCCs in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, could help retain local talent, provide quality employment and connect educated youth with emerging opportunities in the technology-driven economy.
He also identified the region’s climatic conditions and road, rail and air connectivity as advantages that could be developed into a stronger proposition for businesses considering new locations.
The chief minister called for sustained engagement with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) and other industry stakeholders, saying the summit offered an opportunity for the government to understand the industry’s requirements and identify measures needed to attract investment.
He expressed hope that the deliberations would lead to concrete outcomes and a long-term association between Jammu and Kashmir and the GCC industry, with emerging technologies opening opportunities for new investment destinations.
The inaugural session was attended by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo; Commissioner Secretary, Higher Education Department, Ram Niwas Sharma; Secretary, Labour and Employment Department, Kumar Rajeev Ranjan; NASSCOM President Rajesh Nambiar; NIIT Chairman Rajendra Singh Pawar; and IIM Jammu Director Prof. B.S. Sahay, among other representatives from government, industry and academia.
According to the organisers, around 45 organisations, more than 55 industry leaders and over 300 delegates are participating in the summit. The discussions are aimed at identifying pathways to attract investment, promote innovation, generate employment and strengthen sustainable economic growth in Jammu and Kashmir.
