Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on Saturday to light up 18,500 villages in the country within 1,000 days.

"There are 18,500 villages in the country where electricity is yet to reach. If we keep working with old ways, then may be we will take 10 years to get electricity poles to these villages," Modi said.

"I met government officials and asked them how to proceed in order to provide electricity supply. The officials replied that they can do it only by 2019. The country is not ready to wait that long. So Team India pledges today that power will reach these villages within the next 1,000 days," he added.

Modi was addressing the nation from the iconic Red Fort in the national capital on the occasion of 69th Independence Day.