PwC has announced a strategic realignment of its India operations with the creation of a joint venture that merges significant portions of its consulting and offshore service businesses. The agreement, finalized on Sunday between PwC’s member firms in the United States and India, aims to strengthen the company’s position in offshore consulting amid increasing competition and rapid technological change in the professional services sector.
The new entity will consolidate the offshore “acceleration centres” established in India by PwC US’s advisory division with PwC India’s consulting business. Both units currently offer consulting and outsourced services to multinational clients and support other PwC member firms with specialized or lower-cost labor. Together, they employ approximately 40,000 people, representing more than 10% of PwC’s global workforce.
PwC, like its counterparts in the Big Four accounting and consulting firms, is structured as a network of locally owned partnerships rather than a traditional multinational corporation. This model often complicates the delivery of services across borders and can create internal competition between member firms for cross-border contracts. The new joint venture is expected to streamline operations and reduce these tensions by enabling better collaboration between the US and Indian arms.
The move also reflects the growing emphasis on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) within consulting services. As clients demand more AI-driven solutions to increase efficiency and reduce costs, the firms are adapting their offshore capabilities accordingly. Some within PwC have supported the joint venture as a way to remove barriers that have previously limited the broader network’s access to the Indian “acceleration centres.”
Paul Griggs, chief executive of PwC US, emphasized the importance of evolving managed services beyond traditional models, which he described as “body shopping.” He pointed to a shift toward “Managed services 2.0,” which incorporates AI-enabled and AI-accelerated solutions to deliver more advanced business operations.
This joint venture is part of a broader initiative by PwC to integrate its global consulting operations more closely, aiming to enhance innovation and responsiveness in a competitive, technology-driven environment. The development arrives amid ongoing transformation in the professional services industry as firms adapt to new technologies and client expectations.