Five must-read stories—February 18

Demonetisation hits Tirupati temple daily income by up to ₹2 crore

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam is mulling raising the rates for various services after a dip was noted in the daily revenue of the temple post-demonetisation. TTD's daily income, which was about ₹5 crore, has seen a dent of ₹1-2 crore on many days, says The Times of India.

Not enough funds, Centre to limit maternity benefit to first child only

On New Year’s Eve, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that all pregnant and lactating women would be given ₹6,000 under the maternity benefit scheme. As per existing provisions, a woman can get financial aid for two live births. However, due to inadequate Budget provision for the scheme, the Centre is set to limit it to the birth of the first child only, reports The Indian Express.

RSS leader questions NDA policies, says response to farmers’ suicides not enough

The BJP-led NDA government’s claim of pursuing a pro-poor economic policy was questioned on Friday by RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, who termed the continuing farmer suicides a corollary of an untamed agrarian crisis, reports The Hindustan Times.

NDA government junks border wall plan

The Centre has given up its proposal to build a wall along the Pakistan border in Jammu, originally envisaged as a barrier to cross-border terror. The raised embankment, initiated by the UPA government in 2013 after the twin attacks in the Hiranagar/Samba sector, was to come up along 179 km of the International Border in Jammu, reports The Hindu.

Airport sheds body scanners in Delhi

When Delhi airport installed two full-body scanners in November, the fear was they might reveal too much and raise privacy concerns. Both machines were withdrawn a week ago after failing to detect heroin capsules hidden inside a passenger's body, reports The Telegraph.

This article was edited at 11.53 am on February 18 to correct the first link.