{"id":49605,"date":"2025-06-09T10:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T04:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=49605"},"modified":"2025-06-09T12:14:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T06:44:30","slug":"intensified-naxal-crackdown-and-major-welfare-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/intensified-naxal-crackdown-and-major-welfare-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Intensified Naxal Crackdown and Major Welfare Push"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Anti-Naxal Operations Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In its first year, the current government has intensified efforts against the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/naxalism-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Naxal insurgency<\/a>\u00a0while expanding key welfare schemes from earlier terms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Final Push Against Naxals Underway<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The government has intensified efforts to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), aiming to end the decades-long Naxal insurgency by March 31, 2026, as declared by Union Home Minister.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Major Gains in Maoist Strongholds<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Security forces have made significant advances in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, particularly in the Bijapur-Sukma-Dantewada tri-junction.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The use of forward operating bases, enhanced road connectivity, and targeted operations have been central to the strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Surge in Maoist Casualties<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>In Chhattisgarh alone, 209 Maoists were killed in the first five months of 2025\u2014nearly matching the 219 killed in all of 2024.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In contrast, only 53 were killed across India in 2023.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The most notable success was the killing of CPI Maoist general secretary Basavaraju in May 2025.\n<ul>\n<li>Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed this the first time in 30 years that a leader of such high rank has been eliminated in India&#8217;s fight against Naxalism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Operation Black Forest: Massive Success<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Operation Black Forest was launched on April 21. It was a bold and carefully planned three-week joint campaign by the CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police.<\/li>\n<li>It successfully dismantled the Maoists\u2019 strongest fortress in the Kurragutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.<\/li>\n<li>As part of Operation Black Forest:\n<ul>\n<li>54 Naxalites were arrested<\/li>\n<li>84 surrendered across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Key Factors Behind the Success<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The progress is attributed to:\n<ul>\n<li>Strong political will<\/li>\n<li>Intelligence-led operations<\/li>\n<li>Enhanced state-centre coordination<\/li>\n<li>Active participation of local units like Chhattisgarh\u2019s District Reserve Guards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Setbacks and Challenges Remain<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Despite gains, ambushes by Maoists in areas like Kolhan (Jharkhand) and Abujhmad (Chhattisgarh) have resulted in casualties among security forces, showing the rebels still retain strike capabilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>The Road Ahead: Security and Development<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>To fully neutralize LWE, the government must sustain military pressure while also ensuring governance, infrastructure, and welfare outreach in the affected regions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ayushman Bharat Expanded to Cover All Above 70<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In a landmark move under Modi 3.0, the government expanded the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) in September to include all citizens aged 70 and above, regardless of income or social status.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>World\u2019s Largest Health Insurance Scheme<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Launched in 2018, PM-JAY already provided Rs 5 lakh annual health cover to over 40% of India\u2019s poorest families, making it the world\u2019s largest public health insurance programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Addressing India\u2019s Ageing Population<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>This expansion anticipates a major demographic shift.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s elderly population (60+) is projected to rise from 103 million in 2011 to 319 million by 2050, increasing from 8.6% to 19.5% of the total population.<\/li>\n<li>According to the India Ageing Report 2023, only 20% of the senior population currently has any form of insurance coverage, highlighting the significance of universal health coverage for the elderly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Boost to Rural Housing: PMAY-G Extended Till 2029<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) till 2029, aiming to build 2 crore additional rural houses.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>So far, Rs 34,000 crore has been released to states, and 84.45 lakh houses have been sanctioned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Improved Rural Connectivity: PMGSY-IV Launched<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-IV, the Centre plans to connect 25,000 villages with all-weather roads by 2028-29, significantly enhancing rural infrastructure and accessibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Digitising Indian Agriculture<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>In September, the government launched the Digital Agriculture Mission, allocating Rs 2,817 crore. Key initiatives include:\n<ul>\n<li>Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for agriculture<\/li>\n<li>Digital General Crop Estimation Survey (DGCES) for better crop data and planning<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Anti-Naxal Operations FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong>\u00a0What is Operation Black Forest?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0A three-week joint CRPF-Chhattisgarh Police mission that dismantled a major Maoist stronghold in the Kurragutta hills.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong>\u00a0Who was Basavaraju in the Naxal hierarchy?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0Basavaraju was the general secretary of CPI-Maoist and the highest-ranking leader killed in India\u2019s anti-Naxal operations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong>\u00a0How has Ayushman Bharat expanded under Modi 3.0?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0It now covers all Indians aged 70 and above, regardless of income, for health insurance up to Rs 5 lakh annually.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong>\u00a0What are the goals of PMAY-G extension?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0To build 2 crore rural houses by 2029, ensuring housing access for underprivileged families in remote areas.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong>\u00a0What does the Digital Agriculture Mission aim to achieve?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong>\u00a0It promotes digital infrastructure, crop estimation, and data-driven policy support for farmers across India through Rs 2,817 crore investment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/stepping-up-naxal-fight-carrying-on-welfare-push-10055531\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2130295\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatoday.in\/india\/story\/operation-black-forest-biggest-anti-maoist-offensive-that-crushed-key-stronghold-2725878-2025-05-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IT<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India ramps up anti-Naxal operations and expands key welfare schemes like Ayushman Bharat, PMAY-G, and digital agriculture initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":49608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[759,60,761,760],"class_list":{"0":"post-49605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-anti-naxal-operations","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-currrent-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-currrent-afffairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}