India, Feb. 20 -- A fresh review of the regions affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) has brought down the number of affected districts in the country to seven from eight, a development that aligns with the Union Government's declaration on ending the Naxal menace by March 2026. The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently issued the new categorisation to all Naxal-affected states with effect from February 9, officials said.

A comprehensive review of the "National Policy and Action Plan to Address LWE" was undertaken recently by the Union Government, analysing 38 districts across nine states, including Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal. The last such review was hel...