Five must-read stories—February 20

Rail Bhavan, North Block spar after Budget merger

Less than a fortnight after the historic merger of the Rail Budget with the Union Budget, the Railways and Finance Ministries are not seeing eye-to-eye on some critical issues, including finances, reports The Hindu.

Bad loan crisis continues: 56.4% rise in NPAs of banks

Gross non-performing assets (NPAs), or bad loans, of state owned banks surged 56.4% to ₹6,14,872 crore during the 12-month period ended December 2016, and appear set to rise further in the next two quarters with many units, especially in the small and medium sectors, struggling to repay after being hit by demonetisation, reports The Indian Express.

Eastern UP: BJP rebel candidates snub Amit Shah

Hectic efforts by BJP president Amit Shah to convince the party’s rebel candidates to drop out of the fray ahead of Saturday – the deadline for withdrawing nominations for the sixth phase of the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh – have largely fallen on deaf ears barring three candidates. A Scroll.in report.

Make Gandhi killer Godse’s statement public: CIC

Despite the widespread condemnation of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, the statement of his killer Nathuram Godse should be made public along with other relevant court records, the Central Information Commission has ruled. A Times of India report.

Demonetisation delays military infrastructure projects

Demonetisation has had an adverse effect on defence infrastructure projects, say field reports from the military commands. With migrant workers returning, work on infrastructural projects might resume by April, reports The Hindu.