I would say your SAT Scores and school grades are more like switches.
If one goes does try compensating for it by scoring higher on the other.
I fetched a not so impressive 1370 on the SAT, but I am quite confident because I scored 88% in class XI and a 95.4% in XII( with a 99 /100 in Phy Ed.).
I believe they consider the Indian Education System to be tough. Topics like Calculus are taught to us in Grade 12( Terms like Bayes Theorem, Alpha Decay, Coordination Number, Grignard Reagent etc seem like long-lost sisters! XD XD; I am a gap year student)
At the end of the day, you are going there to attain education. So naturally your grades do matter. UC’s have an appreciable International acceptance rate and they do look for Grades( Check their website, they mention Applicant Grades at the top of their Admission Factors List)
@IamINTP Congrats! This year’s admission process is strange. In fact, I heard that this year Purdue is trying to increase its average incoming freshman GPA. You seem lucky!