Varieties of Conspicuous Consumption

In Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, bridegrooms
are expected to pay not only for their weddings, but also all the
related expenses, including several huge pre-wedding parties and money
for the bride's family, a kind of reverse dowry.

NY times article

Using data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey for 1986-2002,
economists Kerwin Charles, Erik Hurst, and Nikolai Roussanov find that
blacks and Hispanics indeed spend more than whites with comparable
incomes on what the authors classify as "visible goods" (clothes,
cars, and jewelry). A lot more, in fact—up to an additional 30
percent. The authors provide evidence, however, that this is not
because of some inherent weakness on the part of blacks and Hispanics.
The disparity, they suggest, is related to the way that all
people—black, Hispanic, and white—strive for social status within
their respective communities.

Slate article

What makes a world class university

Alison Richard, vice-chancellor of University of Cambridge writes in ET
..

But what makes a university world class? [...] In my view, four factors make a university world class. First, it must show a commitment to breadth and excellence in all fields of human inquiry, not simply in a particular niche. Uniform excellence across all fields is an ideal that no university achieves in practice, but it is a fine ambition. One senses that universal, high ambition in great universities, coupled with real excellence in most fields, most of the time.

Second, world class universities engage in cutting-edge research whilst at the same time teaching the next generation, their students. Teaching and research are intrinsically bound together, with top researchers inspiring and mentoring their students. In turn, students themselves inspire and challenge their teachers.

Third, great universities must allow their researchers the freedom to experiment, succeed, and sometimes fail. They must be able to make grand mistakes as well as grand discoveries. It is often through making those mistakes that the grand discoveries are made.

This implies a degree of inefficiency, but it is a necessary inefficiency and a corollary of greatness. A university operating with a completely utilitarian mindset will forego the opportunities that a more open-ended system allows.

Finally, world class universities have permeable boundaries. This means encouraging interdisciplinary research and teaching; it means working with the private sector, for example, fostering and encouraging partnerships with industry; and it means encouraging international collaboration.

Sadly none of the Indian universities or institutes pass this criteria.