According to the Lok Sabha's list of business, four Bills are scheduled to be introduced on Monday, including a Bill seeking to change the name of Kerala to 'Keralam'.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will introduce the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha. He will also introduce the National Cooperative Development Corporation Amendment Bill.
Two other Bills are also scheduled to be introduced.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved a proposal to change the name of the state from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
Following the Cabinet's approval, the President of India will refer the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for its views under the proviso to Article 3 of the Constitution.
After the state Assembly submits its views, the Centre will take further action and seek the President's recommendation for introducing the Bill in Parliament to formally alter the state's name from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on June 24, 2024, seeking to change the state's name to 'Keralam'.
The resolution noted that the state's name is 'Keralam' in Malayalam and recalled that states were formed on linguistic lines on November 1, 1956. It also referred to the long-standing demand for a united Kerala for Malayalam-speaking people during the national independence movement.
The Assembly had urged the Centre to take urgent steps under Article 3 of the Constitution to change the name recorded in the First Schedule from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
The Kerala government subsequently requested the Centre to take necessary steps to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution accordingly.
Article 3 of the Constitution provides for altering the names of existing states. It empowers Parliament to change the name of any state through legislation.
The proviso to Article 3 states that a Bill seeking to alter the name of a state cannot be introduced in either House of Parliament without the President's recommendation. Where such a proposal affects the name, area or boundaries of a state, the Bill must first be referred by the President to the legislature of that state for its views within a specified period.
The period specified by the President, or any further period allowed, must expire before the Bill can proceed.
The proposal to change the name of Kerala to Keralam was examined by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
With the approval of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who also holds the Cooperation portfolio, the draft Cabinet note on the proposed name change was circulated to the Department of Legal Affairs and the Legislative Department under the Ministry of Law and Justice for their comments.
Both departments concurred with the proposal to alter the name of the state from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
