NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry has notified 'Keralam' as the new name for the southern state effective Tuesday.
In a gazette notification issued on Tuesday, the home ministry said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Act, 2026, the Central government hereby appoints the 25th day of August, 2026, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
Earlier this month, President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to a Bill to rename Kerala as Keralam, turning the legislation into a law.
The Lok Sabha passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill on August 11, followed by the Rajya Sabha the next day.
In the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said the Kerala Assembly passed a resolution in 2024, urging the Centre to bring a law to change the name of the state to Keralam.
“The Bill provides that the state of Kerala will be known as the state of Keralam, and hence there is a proposal to rename Kerala to Keralam,” he said.
The Kerala government had forwarded a resolution passed by the state Assembly regarding the name change to the Centre in June 2024.
Subsequently, President Murmu referred the Bill to the state legislature for its views, following which the Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution agreeing with the Bill.
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Act alters the state's name with necessary amendments to the Constitution and the consequential provisions. PTI
