Union Cabinet Approves Renaming Kerala As Keralam, Confirms Ashwini Vaishnaw

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday announced that the Union Cabinet has approved renaming Kerala as Keralam.

Briefing the media after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the Kerala Alteration of Name Bill will be sent to the state assembly for its approval.

The Centre's decision comes ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in the state. The elections are expected to be held in April this year.

"After approval of the Union Cabinet, the President of India will refer a Bill, namely the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, to the State Legislative Assembly of Kerala for expressing its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution of India," Union Minister Vaishnaw said.

Once the Centre receives the opinion of the Kerala State Legislative Assembly, it will proceed with the next steps and seek the President’s recommendation to introduce the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, in Parliament to change the state’s name from “Kerala” to “Keralam”.

Notably, the Kerala Legislative Assembly had passed a resolution in June 2024 proposing that the name “Kerala” be officially changed to “Keralam”.