How important is a graduate degree to get the top/management level tech positions and jobs in India? Also,  how important are grades for someone with say >2 years work experience in India.

All opinions expressed here were gathered during placement season at my college and besides that I've no other source of information. As far as I know, graduate degrees aren't particularly useful in getting you software related jobs in India - plain reason being you don't get to do lot of R&D work here. Experience however counts in India (probably more than US), particularly if you want to get into management level positions. Good grades are certainly useful but average grades won't hurt you. Particularly if you've graduated from a top US school, you should be pretty safe. Having said all this, if however you do get a masters degree from a top US school, your prospects (not only in India but everywhere) can only improve.

Thanks for asking me to answer. There isn't a lot to add to what has said in his answer except for what your definition of "top level tech" may be and what time horizon you may be looking at. For "top level tech" positions in operational roles, your breadth and depth of experience matters and will continue to matter more than the degrees for a while. However the smartest people never stagnate. They keep an eye on what's changing in their field, and constantly upgrade their skills and training, formally and informally, so that they remain desirable and sought-after. If by "top level tech" you mean C-suite or board-level positions, then suffice it to say the road ahead of you to that destination is quite long. Whatever you do right now is relevant only for a few years. If you indeed wish to be in the C-suite or take a board role, you will find yourself preparing quiet differently. You will need to be smart about your career choices including if required, step off the "technology ops" path altogether. If your potential is recognised by your employers, they may invest in the requisite training for you. That is not to say you have to stop learning on your own. However at this point of time in your career, you may not get on the ladder at all without a respectable degree and  good grades. The only case where the degree and the grades may not  matter is if you are an ace geek, with visible achievements in your area  of specialisation, whose talent is recognised by someone with a  reasonable risk tolerance, who is then willing to mentor and promote you. My  experience with the Indian tech sector is that this degree of risk tolerance exists in rare cases, if at all. Hope this helps. Good luck with your decision and career.

Here are my views on your dilemma for working in India: Firstly the grades do matter if you wanna work in India in  top MNC's like Microsoft,Google, and SAP  as these companies give some preference to the grades one has got during 10th, 12th and graduation. Secondly work ex of more than 2 years will decide your position/ role in the company and its of most importance as it will decide your future henceforth. Thirdly degree from outside India is good to have but probably one needs to convince the company HR about the poor grades and if your are successful in that then surely no problem in getting the job in India. Lastly its your attitude  during the interview which will decide your fate even if you don't have good grades. An well known saying its not the aptitude its the attitude that matters in the long run. Hope this will help you to make up your mind to take the right decision.

Small points: 1. Top US college -> Easy to get jobs in India (especially if you're actually good)- there will be tough competition- but most companies will let you interview. 2. Low GPA - how much is low? 3.0/4? 75% is pretty high in India- they won't even know that you have low grades. In any case- grades matter for your first job- not after that. 3. MS- If you don't need it- don't go get it. It'll never hurt your chances though.