Fact Check: Will The Government Throw Money From Helicopters To Help The Needy?

On April 15, Kannada News Channel Public TV broadcasted a piece of news saying that the government may use 'Helicopter Money' to help ease the misery of migrants who have been left without money and are stranded far from home due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., in the promotion building up to the show called "Helicopter Money," the channel used the line "Will Modi throw from the helicopter? (Translated from Kannada)."

However, it is not clear if the channel during the show claimed that money will be dropped from the helicopters. The Youtube version of the show posted by the channel makes no mention of the claim.

Claim:

The government may throw money from helicopters.

Fact check:

The claim is false.

The government is not going to throw money from helicopters.

On April 16, 2020, following the broadcast, the channel was served a show-cause notice by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for airing a program that claimed that the Centre was planning to drop money from helicopters.

The notice accused the channel of "spreading false information, creating panic and social unrest", calling the show "false, mischievous and deliberate". Further, the show was accused of violating Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and was given 10 days to reply to the notice.

According to a Deccan Herald report, this is not the first time the channel has been accused of spreading misinformation. During demonetization, the channel had run a news report discussing the new Rs 2,000 having nano-chips.

What Is Helicopter Money?

According to an Economic Times report, "Helicopter money is an unconventional monetary policy tool aimed at bringing a flagging economy back on track. It involves printing large sums of money and distributing it to the public, American economist Milton Friedman coined this term. It basically denotes a helicopter dropping money from the sky".

A video report by 'CNBC International' to further explains the concept of "Helicopter Money".

Origin Of The Term

The Hindu reported that, according to the latest World Bank assessment, India is expected to grow 1.5 %- 2.8 %. Likewise, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast India's GDP growth of 1.9% in 2020 as the global economy faces the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Therefore, Given such a predicament, Telangana Chief Minister K.C. Rao reportedly proposed the use of the "Helicopter Money" approach to the RBI as one of the steps to boost the Indian economy at a press conference held on April 12, 2020.

In the 'NTV Telugu' video report, K.C. Rao is heard mentioning 'Helicopter money' at the timestamp of 2:12 minutes.

The press conference was held following a virtual meeting between the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers of all the States.

Therefore, given the evidence, it can be ascertained that 'Helicopter money' is an unconventional policy tool to infuse the general population with money to purchase things so as to revive the economy. The term does not mean literally throwing money from a helicopter as shown in the channel's broadcast.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a rise in media misreporting.

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