The problem is that almost anybody can call himself a programmer and find a job since a lot of companies don't bother to check and do not take into account the huge difference of quality and productivity between programmers....
So what I did when we used programmers from philipines (same situation as india) in my company is first request them to do a small application that took two weeks to develop and we checked the code extensively. The first group of programmers didn't work out but the second one produced quality code. We then hired them and did weekly review checking out their code and testing it.
But it's true asking coders in other countries is not the cheap way out of getting a co-founder, who knows how to program, some people want it to be
I totally agree on the co-founder front..... having just one good coder in-house is better than having a half-dozen off-shore who have no clue what they're doing (IMO).
Copywriting as well, but like gommm said, test your prospective resource first.... a watertight grasp on English is essential if you're planning on having an offshore resource write copy for your site/marketing material/etc.
Speaking from personal experience, hiring a bunch of coders in India can either be a fantastic investment and cheap way of getting a prototype done...
...or a minefield of poor communication, miscommunication, a LACK of communication, total misinterpretation of spec, and dog-ugly code.... don't even ask about database structure (or lack thereof).
The startup I've been working for over the past 12 months had one such development team do a prototype, and the next 3 months was a nightmare of bug fixes and code rewrites.
So if there's one thing I can emphasise if you're thinking of engaging an offshore development team.... get references. LOTS of references, and make sure they check out!