Vaishnaw said the Cabinet approved the proposal to alter the state's name to "Keralam".

Kerala Name Change: Union Cabinet Approves ‘Keralam’, Parliament Process to Follow

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the Kerala government’s proposal to rename the state from “Kerala” to “Keralam,” Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held at Seva Teerth, the new Prime Minister’s Office complex.

Vaishnaw said the Cabinet approved the proposal to alter the state’s name to "Keralam". Following this approval, the President of India will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the Kerala Legislative Assembly to seek its views, as required under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution.

After receiving the Assembly’s views, the central government will obtain the President’s recommendation to introduce the Bill in Parliament to officially change the name in the First Schedule of the Constitution.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly had earlier passed a unanimous resolution on June 24, 2024, urging the Centre to rename the state as “Keralam,” stating that this is the name used in the Malayalam language. The resolution noted that states were reorganised on linguistic lines on November 1, 1956, and highlighted the long-standing demand for a united Kerala for Malayalam-speaking people.

The proposal was examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs and, after approval from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, was circulated to the Ministry of Law and Justice. The concerned departments agreed with the proposal.

Source: The Tribune