That realisation seems to be seeping into the country's political families too. For instance, Akhilesh Tiwari, son of Rajasthan BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari, is pursuing a course at Harvard University's political school. "There seems to be an overall feeling among the youth that `I am much better qualified and given a chance, I can change things for the better'," says MITSOG's chief initiator and dean Rahul V Karad.

Agrees Anirudh Suri, now a student at Harvard. An MBA from Wharton, Suri feels the Indian political system is undergoing a transformation, making it easier for people to become politically active or even form their own parties.

Representatives of Oxford, Harvard and Queen's University told ET that the number of Indian students signing up for courses in politics and governance is increasing. For instance, Harvard's John F Kennedy School of Government has seen the number of Indian students joining it go up from 14 in 2008 to 20 this year. Senior CPM leader and former student activist Nilotpal Basu feels the entry of young qualified people into active politics is a good sign for the Indian political system. Yet, he throws in the customary caveat. "While a theoretical course in politics may help them understand the rumbles of Indian politics, they need to associate with practical politics to come to electoral politics," says Basu.

CPM is one of the few parties, which still pays its cadres so that they can function without worries of earning the daily bread. Mr Basu says the salary, fixed at around Rs 4,000, is similar to what unskilled workers earn per month, but too low to attract the best brains.

The Congress Party's national spokesperson and MP from Ludhiana Manish Tewari says that not many parties have a fixed remuneration structure in India. "There is undoubtedly a fresh influx of younger people into mainstream politics," he says adding that they would, however, need to have their own income streams.

Pande and Vasanth mark a good beginning for a country that desperately needs its youth to take a pro-active role in the running of this country if it is to achieve its Vision 2020 of becoming the next Superpower. But their numbers are still very low, rues senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy. "Politics, unfortunately, is still not perceived as something very respectable," he says. He feels the new entrants can be groomed for future roles provided they possess a keen political sense. As for Pande, he is hopeful of his place in the world's largest democracy, pointing to the rise of "unconventional" political leaders like prime minister Manmohan Singh, home minister P Chidambaram, HRD minister Kapil Sibal and his own boss, Jairam Ramesh. "One has to possibly work harder to make it, but it's possible. Work hard, dip deep," he says from Paryaran Bhavan in New Delhi, India's environment headquarters, that played a key role in steering the world debate on climate change in Copenhagen.