India is one of the world's most established destinations for engineering centres, with a deep talent pool across cloud, data, AI and product engineering. But "set up an ODC in India" hides many decisions: which city, which legal model, how to hire, and how to make the team part of your company rather than a separate vendor.
This guide walks through the steps to set up an offshore development centre in India.
Why India for an offshore development centre?
- Talent depth: a large pool of engineers across cloud, DevOps, data, AI/ML, QA and product engineering
- Mature ecosystem: established practices for global teams, from legal to facilities
- English-language business environment
- Time-zone fit: workable overlap with Europe, the Middle East and APAC, and partial overlap with the US
- Cost efficiency for senior talent compared with many Western markets
Step 1: Define scope and choose your model
Decide which roles and disciplines you need, the team size in year one and year three, and your preferred model:
| Model | Who runs it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Managed engineering centre | Partner, long term | Speed and low admin burden |
| Build-Operate-Transfer | Partner, then you | Speed now, ownership later |
| Self-built captive | You | Large, long-term investment with in-country expertise |
Step 2: Choose a location
Major hubs include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, the NCR region and Mumbai. Emerging locations such as Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad can offer strong talent with lower competition and better retention. Consider talent availability for your stack, cost, infrastructure and travel connectivity.
Emerging locations such as Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad can offer strong talent with lower competition and better retention.
Step 3: Establish the entity, workspace and compliance
If you build your own captive, you will need a legal entity (commonly a private limited company), tax registrations, employment contracts, payroll, statutory benefits and data protection compliance, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act and the DPDP Rules 2025, whose obligations phase in through 2027. Confirm the specifics with local counsel. A partner model removes most of this burden at the start.
You will also need a workspace, secure IT infrastructure and access controls aligned with your security policies. See IP and security for offshore teams.
Step 4: Hire and onboard senior engineers
- Start with senior engineers and a strong local lead
- Interview every candidate yourself for technical and cultural fit
- Plan onboarding: access, documentation, a buddy in your home team, and early wins
- Bring the first hires to your headquarters, or send leaders to visit, in the first months
Step 5: Integrate into your engineering organisation
Engineers should work in your sprints, standups, code review and on-call rotations. Use the same tools and definition of done. Design at least a few hours of daily time-zone overlap.
Step 6: Run with clear governance
Agree on reporting, KPIs and reviews:
- Delivery: velocity, cycle time, quality metrics
- People: retention, engagement, time to hire
- Operations: SLA compliance, security incidents
- Monthly governance reviews and quarterly business reviews
How long does it take to set up an ODC in India?
| Approach | First hires productive | Full team of 15–25 |
|---|---|---|
| With an experienced partner | Weeks | Several months |
| Self-built captive | Several months | 9–18 months |
Timelines vary by roles, seniority and location.
How Crozaint approaches offshore centres
Crozaint builds and operates offshore engineering centres through a six-step path: Scope (1–2 weeks), Stand Up (entity, workspace, infrastructure, compliance), Hire & Onboard (senior engineers within weeks), Integrate (your sprints, standups and code review), Run (delivery with performance management) and, for BOT clients, Transfer.
You interview and approve every hire, and engineers report to your engineering leadership. We track retention as an operating metric and target 98% on-time SLA compliance.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a city on cost alone
- Starting with only junior hires
- Underestimating entity and compliance work for a captive
- Treating the team as a vendor with separate processes
- No in-person time with the home team
Conclusion
An Indian offshore development centre can become one of your strongest engineering teams. Choose the right model, hire senior, integrate fully and govern with clear metrics.
Planning a centre in India? Scope your engineering centre in a 30-minute call with Crozaint.
