New Delhi, July 22:  The National Geographic has finally cleared the air over the nighttime map of India, which showed majority parts of the country brightly lit. A similar image was shared by Union Minister Piyush Goyal as an evidence of the growing electrification of India, for which he was also trolled, but the minister stood by his claim. Seems, it is (partial) vindication time for the minister as the National Geographic has recognised that "Its (India's) government has been working hard to establish a rural electrification program and is investing heavily in renewable energy."

The National Geographic India, in its Facebook post, shared an article  with the excerpt saying “That India has brightened dramatically is also not a surprise…Its government has been working hard to establish a rural electrification program and is investing heavily in renewable energy. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the results are already easy to see on Nelson’s map.” Below is the Facebook post of the National Geographic India:

The National Geographic report will be a pleasant news for the Narendra Modi led NDA government in Centre. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29 had tweeted saying that " 28th April 2018 will be remembered as a historic day in the development journey of India. Yesterday, we fulfilled a commitment due to which the lives of several Indians will be transformed forever! I am delighted that every single village of India now has access to electricity." PM Modi tweeted this after the last village to be brought on the national power grid was Leisang village in the Senapati district of Manipur. It gained access to electricity at 5.30pm on Saturday. With this, every village in India has access to electricity, officially.

The report has lauded the government's rural electrification program, but also mentions a piece of information that should not be overlooked. It states that, "There is still a lot of work to be done," which definitely points towards the fact that India is still far from complete electrification, at least according to the National Geographic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 22, 2018 09:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).