Since the time it was set up in 2005, the group has been providing “intellectual input” on demand to our young MPs — all free of cost. Their “clients” cut across party lines: Sandeep Dikshit and Jitin Prasada from the Congress, BJP’s Dharmendra Pradhan, NCP’s Supriya Sule and MDMK’s A Ravichandran are a few names on the list.

“We realised that our MPs don’t have anyone, outside their circle of political workers, on whom they can depend for information. At times, they just have 24 hours before a Standing Committee meeting or a crucial parliamentary debate,” says Nidhi Prabha Tewari, an IRMA graduate who hit upon the idea of providing professional help to parliamentarians while working with East Delhi MP Sandeep Dikshit in 2004.

The group now boasts an impressive panel of about half-a-dozen young graduates of top business schools, with current portfolios varying from investment banking to consultancy. While most of them are based in New York, DC operates from a one-room office in South Delhi.

“We could improve the policy formation process by arming the parliamentarians with facts, data and analysis, creating a legitimate platform to have professionals and individuals across the world engage in the governance process without having to give up their primary avenues,” says Kushagra Saxena, a Stanford University alumnus who works as a consultant with McKinsey in New York.

Although just two years old, the group already has the MPs’ vote of confidence. “When I wanted to give my maiden speech in Parliament on the Patents’ Bill, these guys from DC got experts who explained to me both the pros and cons of the legislation, before I could choose my own point of view,” says Congress MP from Shahajahanpur Jitin Prasada, who is an MBA himself.

Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP MP from Deogarh, adds: “We only get newspaper cuttings from the Parliament library, but these people give us a lot of information.”

Next on DC’s agenda is getting volunteers for an internship opportunity with Indian MPs. And they have set their sights on the world’s top business schools — Wharton, Harvard and Stanford. Their first stop will be Wharton on September 19.

“We’re looking for people who understand the Indian context, have at least two-four years work experience in the non-profit sector and understand that this will be unlike any corporate internships they may have been through,” says Anshuman Bapna, an IIT-Bombay graduate and an MBA from Stanford who is now a strategy consultant in New York.

They are depending on the young MPs for the internships. “Although there’s some uncertainty regarding the political situation right now, we are going ahead with the plan. The initial response has been very good,” says Tewari.