Hyderabad: 24^th September, 2026: Healthark, a healthcare and life sciences strategy and capability-building firm specializing in building niche and specialized GCCs, brought together senior leaders from global pharmaceutical, medtech, healthcare and technology companies at RISE Health Innovation Summit 2026 in Hyderabad, with a strong focus on how India can become a global hub for high-value healthcare and life sciences capabilities.

A key highlight of the RISE summit was the launch of Healthark’s new publication, Unlocking India as the Strategic Hub for Life Sciences & Healthcare GCCs, by Shri D. Sridhar Babu, Hon’ble Minister for Information Technology, Electronics & Communications, Industries & Commerce, and Legislative Affairs, Government of Telangana.

The publication examines the evolution of India’s life sciences and healthcare GCC landscape and the opportunity for global companies to build increasingly sophisticated capabilities in India across regulatory affairs, clinical development, medical affairs, quality, analytics, digital, AI and other specialised functions.

It also brings together perspectives and experiences from industry leaders associated with Novo Nordisk, Roche, Opella and other global organisations, alongside Healthark’s own experience working with healthcare and life sciences companies. Key statements by these leaders are annexed.

India’s GCC opportunity is moving beyond scale

The central theme emerging from RISE 2026 was that the next phase of India’s GCC journey will be defined not simply by the number of people employed or functions relocated to India, but by the value, complexity and global ownership of the work performed here.

Global healthcare and life sciences companies are increasingly looking at India for specialised scientific and business capabilities, access to deep talent pools and the ability to combine domain expertise with technology, analytics and AI.

The summit comprised a two-day virtual program on September 22 – 23, followed by a live summit in Hyderabad on September 24. Across the three days, RISE 2026 brought together speakers from Novo Nordisk, Carelon Global Solutions, Opella, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Roche, Deloitte, Bosch, Medtronic, Sandoz, 4baseCare, Biostate, CRISPR Bits and MedGenome, among others who shared insights on how India’s role in global healthcare and life sciences is changing from the growth of specialized capabilities and R&D to the increasing use of AI, analytics, engineering, genomics and biotechnology to solve complex global problems.

Addressing the audience, Minister D. Sridhar Babu said “RISE 2026 brings together an important cross-section of leaders from healthcare, life sciences, technology, GCCs, research and innovation at a time when India’s role in the global economy is evolving significantly. Hyderabad is particularly well positioned for this next phase, with a strong life sciences ecosystem, deep technology and engineering talent, and an increasingly connected innovation landscape. Our opportunity in Telangana is to bring these strengths together and create an ecosystem where science, technology, talent and industry work together to solve real problems”

Commenting on the event, Dr. Purav Gandhi, Founder & CEO, HealthArk, said: “The conversation around GCCs is changing. For healthcare and life sciences companies, the opportunity is no longer simply about moving more work to India. It is about deciding which capabilities can be built here, creating the right operating model and developing teams that can take global ownership. We believe India can become one of the most important global centres for specialised healthcare and life sciences capabilities.”

Sudeep Krishna, Co-Founder & President, HealthArk, added: “Building a successful GCC requires much more than access to talent. Companies need the right domain capabilities, leadership, operating model and integration with their global organisation. Healthark’s focus is to help companies navigate that journey – from strategy and capability design through to building and scaling teams on the ground.”

Commenting on the event, co-authors of the book added, “India’s role within global organisations is evolving well beyond traditional delivery. We are seeing India-based teams increasingly take ownership of complex global capabilities, bring together technology, talent and business expertise, and contribute directly to enterprise-wide priorities.” – John Dawber, Managing Director, India GCC at Novo Nordisk

“India’s GCC journey has moved well beyond scale. What is increasingly important is the ability to build distinctive capabilities, take ownership of complex global priorities and create value that can travel across the organisation.” – Nilay Shastri, General Manager at Roche Services and Solutions, India

“India’s Life Sciences and Consumer Healthcare ecosystem is entering an exciting new phase, supported by a growing economy, young workforce and strong education ecosystem producing talent across engineering, medicine, and technology. The combination of talent, new ways of working, and strong global partnerships can help India’s GCCs move from operational scale to greater global impact.” – Chandani Palshetkar, Global Head of GCC Strategy & Services at Opella

The live summit opened with the keynote address, “Shaping the Future of Indian Healthcare,” by Dr. G. V. Rao, Director, AIG Hospitals, focusing on the opportunities and transformations shaping the future of healthcare in India. He added“India’s healthcare ecosystem is entering a defining phase, shaped by advances in technology, changing patient expectations and the growing need for more accessible and integrated care,”.

Across three days, RISE 2026 brought together perspectives from government, healthcare, life sciences, technology, research and academia around a common question: how do we translate the extraordinary pace of scientific and technological change into meaningful, scalable impact.