New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- A wave of foreign universities set to wash over India has triggered a scramble for top-tier faculty, boosting salaries and exposing the scarcity of academic talent. Meanwhile, top Indian institutions are fighting to retain their own top teachers.

Universities of Southampton, Liverpool, York, Aberdeen and Queen's University Belfast from the UK, Italy's Istituto Europeo di Design and US-based Illinois Institute of Technology are in line to enter India next year, apart from a clutch of Australian universities. The institutions are primarily scouting New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Gujarat's GIFT City to open their campuses.

Typically, universities hire for academic and non-academic roles. While the former co...