The latest fad among most of the engineering graduates in India is going for an M.S degree, as you said most of them go to US not for the top quality education but mostly as an entry to the job market there. In that case M.S makes the most sense instead of phd, because if you are anyways going for a job might as well finish the most basic requirement and go job hunting. The banks here are happy to offer loans, which when compared to the higher salaries in US are easily payable in 2-3 years.