Bengaluru & Pune | 18 November 2025: The Standard, a leading U.S.-based insurance and financial services company, has strengthened its global operating footprint with the launch of two new Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in Bengaluru and Pune. The move signals the company’s intent to build a scalable, tech-driven global operations model anchored in India’s deep talent ecosystem and digital maturity.

A Strategic Tiered Location Model for Global Scale

Rather than concentrating operations in a single Indian city, The Standard has opted for a deliberate multi-location strategy, leveraging Bengaluru for its established technology leadership and Pune for its risk, operations, actuarial, and analytics talent.  The company is expected to hire across engineering, product, data science, operations, finance, cybersecurity, and cloud roles – building a talent architecture that supports both current needs and future transformation initiatives.

This distributed footprint allows The Standard to:

• enhance business continuity and operational resilience
• access differentiated talent pools across functions
• scale digital and AI-led capabilities sustainably
• mirror the multi-hub model adopted by mature GCCs globally

The strategy positions India not merely as a cost-efficient delivery destination but as a central pillar of the company’s enterprise transformation agenda.

Leadership at the Helm

The expansion is being led by Mohua Sengupta, Senior Vice President & Country Head for India, a seasoned GCC and digital transformation leader with nearly three decades of experience. Under her leadership, The Standard’s India centres are expected to evolve into high-value capability engines that directly influence strategic decisions, customer experience, and enterprise innovation. Speaking on her appointment and the India expansion, Sengupta said:

“I’m delighted to join The Standard during this exciting time of rapid growth. The Standard India will provide access to specialized global talent here in India who will deliver more efficient solutions for current and future customers, and scale more sustainably.”

Her inclusion at the leadership table brings credibility and momentum to the company’s long-term ambition of becoming a technology-forward, customer-centric insurer.

Strengthening the Enterprise for the Future

The Standard’s India GCCs will focus on modernizing the company’s foundational technology stack, scaling cloud-native engineering, strengthening cybersecurity, and accelerating the use of AI and automation. In parallel, the Pune hub is expected to deepen domain-led capabilities in actuarial science, financial operations, risk, and compliance, critical for an industry undergoing regulatory shifts and rising customer expectations.

Rather than functioning purely as cost-centres, The Standard’s GCCs are being developed as multi-functional innovation engines:

• Technology and Engineering: These centres will handle digital product development, cloud platforms, AI-based automation, data engineering, and actuarial analytics.
• Business Operations: They will also support underwriting, claims operations, finance, and regulatory compliance.
• Transformation & Innovation: With an eye on long-term value, the centres are expected to contribute significantly to The Standard’s global modernization efforts by embedding advanced analytics, intelligent automation, and platform thinking within their operations.

Why It Matters for India’s GCC Ecosystem

The Standard’s India GCC launch comes at a time when the GCC industry in India is rapidly scaling, not just in number, but in sophistication. Reported estimates suggest India’s GCC count could exceed 2,100 by FY28, driven by demand for innovation, digital transformation, and value-creation instead of just cost optimization.

This trend reflects how global firms are reimagining India-based operations as strategic hubs for digital growth, driving mission-critical business functions rather than acting solely as back-office support.

Long-Term Outlook: Building for Scale and Strategy

Dual-location strategy aims to tap into India’s top-tier tech and operations talent to fuel global transformation, under Mohua Sengupta’s leadership.

The Standard’s entry into India’s fast-growing GCC landscape reinforces a clear message – global enterprises are no longer viewing India as a back-office hub but as a strategic engine of transformation. The dual centres reflect a broader industry trend: major insurers are moving toward distributed capability networks that combine operational excellence with innovation and resilience. By establishing GCCs in Karnataka (Bengaluru) and Maharashtra (Pune), The Standard is making a long-term bet on India’s talent, technology, and operational excellence. With leadership, infrastructure, and scale in place, these GCCs are set to play a pivotal role in:

• Enabling The Standard’s global growth strategy
• Driving operational resilience and innovation
• Elevating India’s status as a center for next-gen financial services capability

The company’s capability-first model reflects the new GCC maturity curve, where success is defined not by scale alone but by the ability to deliver innovation, resilience, and enterprise-wide impact. In the coming years, as insurers worldwide accelerate digital modernization, India-based GCCs like The Standard India will play a defining role in shaping the future of global financial services.

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About SSF Global
SSF Global is a Global Community for Enterprise Function Leaders and serves as a research & advisory platform focused on Global Business Services (GBS), Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and the evolution of enterprise innovation in India and beyond. We track, publish, and partner in narratives that shape how capability centres transform into hubs of trust, intelligence, and sustainable growth. We also evaluate, assess and benchmark the GCCs for their performance, maturity and other parameters using our proprietary tools built from the knowledge gained from direct interaction with our members (GCCs & GBS).