High CGPA, may indicate that the student is goal oriented and serious about study and academic performances. However, low CGPA does not necessarily mean that the student is not goal oriented or not serious about studying and it doesn’t mean that he can’t become a successful person later on.
Importance of CGPA totally depends on that what they want to do after completing the pursuing degree, whether they want to do a Job in a Company or want to go for Higher studies. One should have a high CGPA, if he/she is planning to go for Higher studies. To get hired for a Job knowledge, good communication skills and the way to express yourself in an interview dominates over CGPA.
In India, most of the Engineering colleges have relative grading pattern and they follow 10-point CGPA system. Generally, CGPA above 8 is considered good, but for the students who want to get admission in some good foreign Universities or want to do an internship or research projects there, they should have very good CGPA. As example for summer research internship programs like DAAD (in Germany) and Viterbi-India (in USA), minimum required CGPA/CPI is 8.5. To get admission for M.S. or PHD in good Universities, apart from having good GRE, TOEFL or IELTS scores, high CGPA is also a major concern.