Kerala Officially Becomes Keralam After President Murmu Gives Assent

Kerala has officially been renamed “Keralam” after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026. With the President’s approval, the legislation has become law, completing the formal parliamentary process for changing the state’s constitutional name.

The change, however, is the result of a process that began several years ago. The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on June 24, 2024, requesting the Centre to change the state’s name from Kerala to Keralam. The Union Cabinet subsequently approved the proposal on February 24, 2026.

From Assembly resolution to Parliament

Following the Cabinet's approval, the proposed legislation went through the constitutional procedure prescribed for changing the name of a state. The President referred the Bill to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views, after which the Assembly again backed the proposal unanimously in July 2026.

The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 was introduced in Parliament during the Monsoon Session. The Lok Sabha passed it on August 11, while the Rajya Sabha approved it on August 12, clearing the way for presidential assent.

Why was Kerala renamed Keralam?

“Keralam” is the Malayalam name by which the state is known in its native language. The demand to use Keralam as the state's official name is linked to the desire to give the state's constitutional and official identity a form closer to its Malayalam linguistic and cultural identity.

The move is therefore more than a simple change in spelling. It formally aligns the name used in the Constitution with the name used in Malayalam.

What changes in the Constitution?

The change is being carried out under Article 3 of the Constitution, which gives Parliament the power to alter the name of an existing state. The First Schedule of the Constitution, which lists the states and their territories, will be amended to replace “Kerala” with “Keralam”.

The change will gradually be reflected across official government records, documents, maps, signage and other references where the constitutional name of the state is used.

What will not change?

The renaming does not alter the state's geographical boundaries, capital, administrative structure or status as a state of India. For residents and visitors, there will be no immediate change to everyday life.

The main change is in the state's official constitutional identity. In other words, Kerala remains the same state geographically and administratively, but its official name will now be Keralam.

A long-standing linguistic demand reaches its final stage

The journey from Kerala to Keralam has involved the state legislature, the Union government, Parliament and finally the President. The 2024 Assembly resolution was the starting point of the present process, followed by Union Cabinet approval, reconsideration by the state legislature, parliamentary approval and presidential assent.

With the President’s signature, the proposed name change has now received the legal approval required to become official.