The Lok Sabha has passed the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, paving the way for the State to be officially renamed Keralam.

The Bill was passed by voice vote without debate amid protests by Opposition MPs, who raised slogans and displayed placards in the Well of the House. The legislation seeks to amend the First Schedule of the Constitution by replacing the name ‘Kerala’ with ‘Keralam’.

The Lok Sabha reassembled at 2 pm on Tuesday amid an uproar, with Opposition members demanding the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.

Members also raised slogans over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Presiding officer Krishna Prasad Tenneti allowed papers to be laid on the table despite the disruption.

The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill was subsequently taken up for consideration and passage.

Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai moved the legislation. It was passed by voice vote without any debate as Opposition MPs continued their protest.

“It seems the Congress MPs are not in favour of the renaming,” Rai said while taking a swipe at the principal Opposition party, which governs Kerala.

The move follows a unanimous resolution adopted by the Kerala Assembly after the Centre referred the proposal back to the legislature for its views. 

The Centre had earlier referred the proposal back to the State legislature for its views. The Assembly subsequently adopted the resolution unanimously, allowing the Centre to bring the Bill before Parliament.

The proposed change requires an amendment to the First Schedule of the Constitution, where the State's official name is listed.

Renaming will involve more than official records

Although changing Kerala’s name in the law may appear straightforward, implementing it across the State's extensive administrative system will be a much larger exercise.

Once the change comes into force, the name will have to be updated across government records and official communication.

This could include government office name boards, department signs, official vehicles, letterheads, seals, stamp papers, forms and other stationery. Government websites and electronic communication systems will also need to be updated.

Departments and government institutions are expected to make these changes separately and over a period of time.

The exact financial impact is not yet known.

Government institutions may also need changes

The exercise could extend beyond routine administrative material to prominent government establishments.

For instance, institutions such as Kerala House in New Delhi may require their names to be changed. Some establishments, depending on their legal status, could require separate legal or legislative action.

The scale of the exercise will depend on how quickly the changes are implemented and how many government institutions and records need to be altered.

No official estimate of cost yet

There is currently no official estimate of how much the renaming exercise will cost the State.

Previous State renaming exercises have been cited in reports as costing between ₹400 crore and ₹1,000 crore. Examples include the changes from Orissa to Odisha and Uttaranchal to Uttarakhand.

Governments have generally sought to limit the immediate financial burden by allowing existing stationery and other materials bearing the old name to be used alongside the new name for a specified period.

For Kerala, the eventual cost is likely to depend on the scale and pace of implementation, as well as the number of institutions that require separate changes.

The Bill's passage in the Lok Sabha marks another step in the process of formally changing the State's name from Kerala to Keralam.