Lucknow, Oct 26 Global companies on Monday praised Uttar Pradesh’s policies, improved infrastructure, talented workforce, and administrative support for investors at the GCC Innovation Summit 2026 in Lucknow, an official release said.
In the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, representatives of LG Electronics, Smartworks, Microsoft and HCL Technologies shared their investment experiences, saying Uttar Pradesh’s swift decision-making and industry-friendly environment are attracting global companies, the state government said in the release.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also released a white paper titled ‘The True Economics of AI Adoption in GCCs’, prepared under the deep-tech innovation collaboration between HCL and IIT Kanpur, the release added.
LG Electronics representative Brijesh Sharma said, “The company is investing Rs 634 crore in its Eco Solutions GCC and aims to begin operations by the end of this year. The centre will focus on HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), heat pump technology and advanced product development. The company aims to create more than 500 high-value jobs through talent development and training. In the future, research and development will also be expanded in AI-based data center cooling technologies.”
Harsh Binani of Smartworks said, “The Uttar Pradesh government had recognized the potential of GCCs in time and accelerated the investment process.”
He said that Smartworks manages more than 2 million square feet of office space in Noida, where over 110 companies operate. The company is now expanding into Lucknow. A GCC hub spanning 200,000 square feet has been developed at BBD Times Square.
More than 2.3 million professionals work across over 2,100 GCCs in India.
Expanding these centres in Uttar Pradesh will give young people in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur and Gorakhpur opportunities to pursue global careers within their own state.
“We have not come here merely to sign MoUs. We have come to deliver results. You have built expressways in Uttar Pradesh, and together, we will build career expressways for the youth,” he said.
Rajiv Kumar, a representative of the Microsoft India Development Center, said that talented human resources, employee safety, improved infrastructure, and progressive policies make Uttar Pradesh an attractive investment destination.
He explained that when Microsoft was establishing its centre in Noida, it decided to develop a new sector and make land available within about 6 weeks, following discussions with Ritu Maheshwari, the then CEO of the Noida Authority.
The Microsoft centre in Noida employed around 600 people in its first year, and the workforce grew to approximately 3,000 within three years.
The campus, developed with an investment of around Rs 2,500 crore, will feature state-of-the-art facilities.
He also highlighted the Noida centre’s contribution to developing technologies such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Copilot.
Kiran Cherukuri, representative of HCL Technologies, praised the state’s dedicated GCC policy and the effective implementation of investment incentives. He said HCL established its Lucknow campus about 10 years ago, where about 1,500 people are currently employed.
He also highlighted the launch of an AI-powered GCC Centre of Excellence at HCL’s Lucknow campus in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The objective is to accelerate GCC setup by providing advanced cloud and computing facilities.
(PTI News)
