Major international corporations anticipate that artificial intelligence will speed up innovation and intellectual property development at their Indian technology facilities, highlighting the nation’s expanding role as a center for technological advancement as AI transforms workplace operations.
Leaders from companies including Epsilon (part of Publicis Groupe), Kimberly-Clark, and Daimler Truck informed Reuters that automation is enabling employees at their global capability centres to shift away from basic tasks and concentrate on sophisticated projects while developing proprietary technologies.
“The number of IPs, the patents and the trade secrets created by (GCCs in India) is already increasing,” Radhakrishnan Kodakkal, head of Daimler Truck Innovation Center India, said at a Reuters summit. “AI would accelerate it.”
India’s technology centers have evolved significantly from their original purpose as affordable back-office operations, transforming into innovation hubs for international businesses. However, AI capabilities that can increasingly perform tasks like software development have raised questions about the future direction of these facilities.
Despite global economic uncertainty, India’s substantial pool of AI-trained professionals and competitive cost structure continue attracting investment to these centers.
According to a study by Nasscom and consultancy Zinnov, Indian global capability centres earned approximately $98.4 billion in revenue during the previous fiscal year, reaching industry forecasts four years earlier than expected.
Another Nasscom study indicated patent applications in India increased by 11.3% to more than 90,000 during fiscal 2024, with nearly half originating from multinational corporations, although it didn’t specify contributions from global capability centres.
Company leaders noted that Indian centers’ contributions are likely underrepresented, since much of their intellectual property gets filed through parent companies in the United States and Europe.
“At Kimberly-Clark, we do not do any patent filing from India. Whatever we do, we do through (the) U.S. because of the difficulty here,” said Deena Dayalan, global head of digital operations and cloud transformation at the consumer goods maker.
Dayalan explained that patent applications in India require five to six months, roughly twice the duration needed in the U.S. The approval process takes several additional years, he noted.
According to Nasscom, India employs significantly fewer patent examiners compared to the U.S., causing processing delays. The industry organization has also stated that expensive legal fees and unclear procedures discourage companies from filing patents domestically.
“At the Indian Patent Office, backlog and manpower shortages have long slowed the pace of examination and grant,” said Harsh Kaushik, a New Delhi-based IP lawyer.
However, he noted that recent efforts to digitize more Patent Office operations and implement centralized application distribution have streamlined the filing process. The office has also increased video hearing usage, making the system more accessible for applicants.
Company executives also emphasized that the solid infrastructure established by Indian global capability centres would support continued expansion in high-value activities.
“I see more and more IP work happening (here),” said Pratik Nath, managing director of Epsilon India.
