Higher education is all about people and management. The success of the higher educational institutions revolves largely around the quality of the research and the faculty. This emphasizes the need of a strong financial base to deliver a quality education to students. In the present scenario, which is characterized by intense information flow, dynamism, progress, growth, and continuous challenging environment, the higher educational institutions hold an important place. The present study focuses on exploring the relationship between human capital management and human resource development (HRD) climate. For the research purpose, two universities, University of Jammu and University of Kashmir, have been taken. The model derived by applying a confirmatory factor analysis in the present research study depicts a linkage between human capital management and HRD climate, and if applied in the institutions of higher education by customizing according to their needs and requirements, it would help in attaining the vision as perceived by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry for 2030 in attaining overall excellence in higher education sector in India. So, it is very important to develop research focused universities with community participation which could deliver high quality research output and research focused graduates and lead to creating a NALANDA for the new millennia.