Big accounting firms expand in smaller cities
Hiring of accounting, tech graduates boost local economy
EY expects MNCs to add 800 centres, hire 2.6 mln by 2030

BHUBANESWAR, India, July 12 Reuters The world39;s major accounting firms are stepping up investments in new Indian facilities away from bigger cities as global demand for cheaper back office operations grows and smaller towns move up the economic value chain.

For decades, large multinational corporations have rushed to India39;s biggest metropolises, chiefly Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, to set up massive operational centres that employ millions, lured by vast, lowcost talent pools, particularly in IT.

Business service exports have become a critical part of India39;s economy but the sector has been hit by a slowdown in global demand for software and challenges in big urban centres such as rising costs, high attrition and slow progress in getting workers to return to the office after the pandemic.

A report by Ernst Young in June said it expects multinationals to set up global capability centres for all types of industries in tier2 cities such as Jaipur, Vadodara, Kochi, and Chandigarh. The number of such centres could expand to 2,400 by 2030 from 1,600, adding 2.6 million jobs and over 100 billion to the economy.

That means more professional opportunities and potentially higher salaries in areas away from more globally connected business centres.

Diksha Mehta, 27, a mathematics graduate from the north…