New Delhi | Naxal violence has come down by 81 per cent in the country while deaths of civilians and security forces has reduced by 85 per cent, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Rai said to address the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) menace holistically, the government has approved the National Policy and Action Plan to address the LWE in 2015.

The policy envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities, etc.

He said the resolute implementation of the policy has resulted in consistent decline in violence and constriction of geographical spread.

"Incidents of violence by Left Wing Extremists which reached its highest level of 1,936 in 2010 have reduced to 374 in 2024 i.e. a reduction of 81 per cent. The total number of deaths (civilians + security forces) has also reduced by 85 per cent during this period from 1,005 deaths in 2010 to 150 in 2024," he said in a written reply.

The minister said during the last six years, incidents of violence by LWE which were 501 in 2019 have reduced to 374 in 2024 i.e. a reduction of 25 per cent.

The total number of deaths (civilians and security forces) has also reduced by 26 per cent during this period from 202 deaths in 2019 to 150 in 2024, he said.