India's workforce in 2025 focused on cognitive shifts rather than just technical upgrades, emphasizing judgement-led decision-making over rigid roles. Key skills developed include strategic thinking within AI contexts, understanding systems and consequences. Leaders learned to blend data-driven insights with human judgment, discerning when to trust numbers and when to question them. AI fluency, not expertise, became mainstream, enabling comfortable collaboration with AI tools. This cognitive evolution is expected to shape India's work landscape through 2026 and beyond.