RAS question
The Union Cabinet approved renaming 'Kerala' to 'Keralam' following resolutions passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly in which years?
Correct answer: (B) 2023 and 2024.
The Union Cabinet approved renaming Kerala as Keralam after the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed resolutions on the issue in August 2023 and June 2024.
Explanation
The answer is 2023 and 2024 because the Kerala Legislative Assembly first passed a similar resolution in August 2023, and then unanimously adopted another resolution on 24 June 2024 urging the Centre to alter the state’s name from Kerala to Keralam. The 2024 resolution sought action under Article 3 of the Constitution to amend the First Schedule, which records the names of states. The reason given was linguistic: the state’s name is Keralam in Malayalam. The Union Cabinet then approved the proposal to rename Kerala as Keralam, after which the Kerala Alteration of Name Bill, 2026 was to be referred to the state Assembly for its views before further action by the Centre.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2022 is not supported by the cited account; the earlier Assembly resolution mentioned there was passed in August 2023, not 2022.
- (C) 2021 is not part of the recorded sequence; the cited sequence is a similar resolution in August 2023 followed by the unanimous resolution of 24 June 2024.
- (D) 2025 is too late for the Assembly-resolution sequence behind the Cabinet approval, which rests on the 2023 and 2024 resolutions.
Concept
This tests the constitutional procedure for altering a state’s name, especially Article 3 and the First Schedule. RAS repeatedly asks such items because they combine current governance decisions with static constitutional provisions.