The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed two significant pieces of legislation—the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 and the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026—amid uproar by opposition members. Both Bills were passed without discussion before the House was adjourned for the day.
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 seeks to change the name of the state from Kerala to Keralam in the First Schedule of the Constitution. The proposal follows a resolution passed by the Kerala Legislative Assembly in June 2024, requesting the Centre to formally recognise the state’s Malayalam name.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the Kerala Assembly had adopted the resolution in 2024 seeking the change. He explained that while the state is known as Keralam in Malayalam, the Constitution currently refers to it as Kerala.
Rai said the Union Cabinet approved the proposal in February this year and decided to introduce the required legislation to amend the Constitution’s First Schedule.
The Minister also criticised Congress MPs from Kerala for their alleged lack of support for the Bill and questioned whether the party had any objection to changing the state’s name from Kerala to Keralam. He urged the Congress to clarify its position on the issue.
The Lok Sabha also passed the National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to amend the National Co-operative Development Corporation Act, 1962.
Moving the legislation, Minister of State for Cooperation Murlidhar Mohol said the proposed amendments would expand the scope of activities that can be undertaken by the National Co-operative Development Corporation (NCDC).
Under the amended framework, the NCDC will be able to undertake activities related to industrial goods. The Bill also provides for state governments to extend funding from the Corporation to entities engaged in cooperative development.
In addition, the NCDC will be empowered to provide loans and grants directly to cooperative societies and other entities involved in cooperative development.
Mohol said the NCDC was established to provide financial assistance for the organised and sustained development of the cooperative sector. Initially, its activities were primarily focused on production, processing and related services through cooperative societies.
However, the role of the Corporation has gradually expanded to cover areas including processing, marketing, storage, exports and imports. In recent years, the NCDC has also become involved in cooperative development in infrastructure, technology and financial services in collaboration with state government agencies and other institutions.
According to Mohol, the changing requirements and rapid expansion of the cooperative sector have made it necessary to broaden the NCDC’s mandate.
Highlighting the government’s financial support to the cooperative sector, Mohol said that from the establishment of the NCDC in 1963 until 2014, financial assistance provided by previous governments stood at around Rs 45,000 crore. In contrast, he said, financial assistance had risen to approximately Rs 4 lakh crore during the 11 years since 2014.
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