The world ranking of universities has assumed great significance because those that rank high are found to produce globally competent professional and political leaders needed to adeptly manage the affairs of a country from local to international levels. World experience tells us that in the knowledge-based economy of today, the prosperity of a nation is essentially driven by leadership shown in research and innovation, which typically flourishes in world-class universities. Having world-class universities in a nation is now a prerequisite to qualify for achieving developed nation status. Even if a nation is endowed with abundant natural resources, without world-class universities, it cannot become developed and remains a developing country. There are many universities in India that have a good amount of money and excellent infrastructure, yet they do not rank high on the world list. They have all the required resources at hand except for good professors. Unfortunately, in India, faculty growth is neglected. Outdated rules and regulations and service conditions have constrained professors, preventing them from performing to the best of their abilities. This is the main bottleneck. Their service conditions urgently need to be reengineered along the lines of the world's best universities, without which India is less likely to rank high globally and, in turn, become a developed country, as is eagerly desired. Each university and college should have a mission and ambition to build its faculty to a world-class level.