Maoists declared a temporary suspension of the armed struggle to facilitate peace talks with the Centre, PTI reported, citing banned CPI (Maoist) spokesperson. Maoists reportedly urged Centre to declare a one-month ceasefire. The government had said Naxal-affected areas reduced from 18,000 sq km to 4,200 sq km and Naxal incidents dropped from 16,463 in 2014 to 7,744 in 2024.