It is difficult, if not impossible, to completely clamp down on Maoist finances. However, it is possible to restrict the flow of money into their coffers.

For the financial year 2017-18, the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has been allocated Rs. 83,823 crore, a hike of around 11.5 per cent over that of the previous year. Though the Union government has been providing substantial budget support to the MHA to aid its reform and modernisation programs, the ministry’s efforts to bring about desired reforms have shown mixed results so far.

Winning hearts and minds through the Civic Action Programme (CAP) and the Media/Perception Management Plan is an important element in combating LWE propaganda.

The external linkages of the Maoists are wide, stretching from Latin America to South East Asia. These linkages have, essentially, given them visibility and propaganda, and very occasionally weapons.

Women join Maoist ranks for a variety of reasons: impressionable age, social milieu and circumstances, personal reasons, influence of kin or family and the inspiration of ideology.

At one point there were an estimated 800 children in the ranks of the Maoists. Variously known as Bal Dasta, Bal Sangh and Bal Sangham, they are used for intelligence gathering, carrying food and arms, and serving extortion notes.

In the wake of the Sukma attack, it is apparent that the CPI-Maoist's weather- and surrender-induced operational frailty is a matter of the past.