Parliament Passes Bill to Rename Kerala as Keralam

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Key takeaways

Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to officially change the state's legal name to Keralam.
Article 3 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to alter the name or boundaries of any Indian state by law.
The bill requires a simple majority of members present and voting in both Houses as outlined under Article 4.
The legislative amendment directly modifies Entry 15 of the First Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Parliament passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to officially change the name of Kerala to Keralam.
This decision followed a unanimous resolution passed earlier by the Kerala State Legislative Assembly.
The new law amends the First Schedule of the Indian Constitution to reflect the state's native Malayalam pronunciation and cultural heritage.

Article 3 of the Constitution empowers Parliament to form new states, alter boundaries, or change the name of any state.
The amendment modifies Entry 15 of the First Schedule, which contains the official list and territorial extents of all Indian states.

The process begins when a State Legislative Assembly passes a formal resolution requesting a name change.
A bill proposing the change can enter Parliament only after receiving the prior recommendation of the President of India.
Before recommending the bill, the President sends it to the concerned State Assembly to express its views within a given timeframe.
Consulting the state is mandatory for cooperative federalism, but the views of the State Assembly are not binding on Parliament.
Parliament formally introduces the bill after receiving state views or after the specified time limit expires.
Under Article 4, Parliament passes this as an ordinary bill using a simple majority of members present and voting.
Once the President signs the bill, the government issues a gazette notification to officially update the First Schedule.

This change restores the native Malayalam name 'Keralam', honoring the cultural and linguistic identity of the state.
It demonstrates strong cooperative federalism, as the Central Government acted directly on a unanimous request from the State Assembly.