Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said India's rural areas need adequate electricity supply to increase productivity and in turn prevent farmer suicides.
"We have to bring a qualitative change in people's lives in rural areas and have to begin with providing them adequate electricity. We must ensure that villages have access to 24-hour electricity," Modi said.
The prime minister said it was sad that farmers were forced to commit suicide because of inadequate power supply affecting their productivity.
"For a nation to develop, the focus must be on infrastructure," he said.