Meh. I think India makes a lot of great programmers. I've worked with too many good guys (and gals) to know that the country is capable of making talent.
But, I think that it also produces a lot of mediocre ones, too, but that might be because programming is perceived as a respectable "default" profession for smart but rudderless people. In the US, those people go into law, or try out medicine, but coding is seen as deeply unsexy. This stigma is unfortunate but I believe it also acts as a filter as well. Of the people that exit CS programs with a degree in hand, perhaps a higher percentage might be of the caliber that goes on to do great impactful things.
But, I think that it also produces a lot of mediocre ones, too, but that might be because programming is perceived as a respectable "default" profession for smart but rudderless people. In the US, those people go into law, or try out medicine, but coding is seen as deeply unsexy. This stigma is unfortunate but I believe it also acts as a filter as well. Of the people that exit CS programs with a degree in hand, perhaps a higher percentage might be of the caliber that goes on to do great impactful things.