NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Saturday that corruption was eating away at India "like a termite" as he used an independence day speech to pledge his commitment to eradicating graft and poverty.

In an address from Delhi's Red Fort, Modi sought to silence growing doubts about his leadership after key reforms stalled in a rancorous parliament session dogged by allegations of corruption involving some of his top lieutenants.

Modi, who has a reputation as a hard-line Hindu nationalist, also warned against the "poison" of communalism in a wide-ranging speech that lasted for more than an hour.

But it was his comments on the dangers posed by corruption that drew most attention, including his admission that the problem went right to the top.

"I want to reaffirm that this nation will get rid of corruption. We can rid the country of corruption, we have to start from the top," said Modi.

"Corruption is like a termite, it spreads slowly, reaches everywhere but it can be beaten with timely injections."

Modi's speech comes after some of the most senior figures in his Bharatiya Janata Party became embroiled in corruption scandals, including Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and the chief ministers of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states.

The scandals have been particularly embarrassing as Modi's election win last year was built in part on a pledge to clean up government after a series of scams under the previous Congress administration.

Modi said there had been no cases of money being siphoned off on his watch and that a new law on declaring income had led to the disclosure of around one billion dollars in hitherto hidden assets which will now be liable to tax.

Other economic reforms however have snagged in parliament, including a national sales tax that the government sees as crucial to firing up growth.

While the economy is growing at around 7.5 per cent, it still needs to pick up pace to elevate the hundreds of millions of people still mired in poverty in the world's second most populous nation.

Power for Villages

Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a 1,000-day deadline Saturday for every village in India to get electricity as he emphasised his commitment towards combating poverty.

In a speech on independence day, Modi urged state governments which are responsible for electricity to ensure that millions of households are finally linked up to the national grid.

"Even after so many decades of independence there are 18,500 villages in India which do not have electricity," Modi said in on the 69th anniversary since the end of British rule.

"I appeal to the states and all other stakeholders to connect these villages with electricity system within 1,000 days," Modi added in his speech from the ramparts of Delhi's Red Fort.

Read more: Only one in 10 homes in rural India has fridge

The right-wing premier, who has been accused of doing too little to help the nation's poorest, said his government had already succeeded in enabling 170 million people to open bank accounts for the first time under a government-run scheme.

"Financial inclusion of poor has been a priority and for decades people have been just thinking about it," said Modi who came to power in May last year. “But I am proud that we have included 170 million poor people in India's banking system. We have kept our promise.

"The poor are at bottom of the pyramid of development and we have to strengthen the base of the pyramid. If they are empowered, no one can stop us."

Modi says pro-poor, quiet on big business

Modi sought to shed an image that he governs for big business, vowing to help the poor in his speech aimed at bolstering popularity rather than tackling setbacks to his economic reform plans.

Modi took office just over a year ago on a wave of optimism that he would quickly revive India's economic fortunes but despite a number of victories, opposition to land and tax shake-ups has slowed his progress.

Modi's independence day speech focused on measures his "Team India" had rolled out to include millions of poor Indians in the banking and insurance systems, policies for workers and farmers and successes in the fights against inflation and corruption.

"Farmers need protection. For 60 years very little attention was paid to their welfare. We want to change this approach," he said in his second annual address from the ramparts of the Mughal era Red Fort in New Delhi.

But he made no mention of his flagship "Make in India" project aimed at speeding up India's industrial revolution, and did not talk about weeks of opposition in parliament that have stalled his plans for pro-industry land and tax reforms.

Modi first mentioned "Make in India" a year ago, when he called on investors to set up in the country.

Read more: Indian Independence Day: Modi vows to fix government muddle

That programme has had some successes, with Taiwan's Foxconn unveiling a $5 billion investment last week. But Modi's party is facing a tightly fought election in the rural state of Bihar in a few weeks where the opposition is seeking to paint him as a "suit, boot" politician whose policies damage the poor.

Repeatedly dabbing his face in the humid morning, Modi said he had done more for villagers than any other government.

Modi, himself from a poor family, said he was considering incentives for manufacturers to create more jobs and promised to make hiring of blue collar workers merit based, in a culture where jobs often depend on personal connections.

The slower-than-expected reform pace since Modi stormed to office with India's first ever lower house majority for a conservative government has disappointed some who expected him to rapidly slash the red tape of India's socialist past.

"One year later, it seems that caution characterises the Modi government's performance just as enthusiasm had defined Modi's election promises," the Washington-based Hudson Institute said in a report this week.

India's celebrations to mark independence from Britain in 1947 are tinged with sadness because they also recall the bloody partition from Pakistan in which hundreds of thousands died.