President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, completing the parliamentary process to change the official name of the State from Kerala to Keralam.
The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 11 and the Rajya Sabha on August 12 before receiving presidential assent. With the assent, the Bill has become law.
The legislation provides for replacing “Kerala” with “Keralam” in the First Schedule of the Constitution, which lists the States and Union Territories. The change is being made under Article 3 of the Constitution.
The process began with a resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2024 seeking the change of the State’s name. The resolution was forwarded to the Centre in June that year.
The proposal was subsequently referred back to the State legislature for its views, following which the Kerala Assembly unanimously supported the proposed change.
The Act, however, provides that the name change will take effect from a date to be appointed by the Central Government through an Official Gazette notification.
The Act also makes the necessary changes to the Constitution and provides for existing laws, legal proceedings and other official references to “Kerala” to be treated as references to “Keralam” after the name change takes effect.