Kerala Name Change: President Murmu Approves Bill To Rename State As Keralam
President Murmu approves bill proposing Kerala’s official name change.
President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, clearing the way for the state of Kerala to officially be known as Keralam. With the President’s approval, the legislation has become law. The name change follows a process that began with a resolution passed by the Kerala Assembly seeking the alteration.
The Lok Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, on Tuesday, followed by its passage in the Rajya Sabha the next day. During the Rajya Sabha proceedings, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai explained that the Kerala Assembly had adopted a resolution in 2024 urging the Centre to introduce legislation to change the state’s name.
The Kerala government had forwarded the Assembly’s resolution to the Centre in June 2024. The proposal subsequently went through the required legislative process, including consideration of the views of the state legislature. President Murmu had referred the Bill to the Kerala Assembly for its views, following which the Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution supporting the proposed change.
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The legislation provides that the state currently known as Kerala will be referred to as the State of Keralam. The Bill also contains provisions for the necessary amendments to the Constitution and other consequential changes arising from the alteration of the state’s name. The change therefore involves more than an administrative renaming and requires corresponding constitutional amendments.
The First Schedule to the Constitution will be amended to replace the name Kerala with Keralam. The amendment is being carried out in accordance with Article 3 of the Constitution, which provides the constitutional framework for the alteration of the names of states and other related changes.
With the President’s assent, the legislative process for the proposed name change has been completed. The move formally establishes Keralam as the state’s new constitutional name, following the unanimous support expressed by the Kerala Assembly and approval by both Houses of Parliament.
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