Kochi | The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) here on Thursday said it was going to change its name to 'Keralam Metro Rail Ltd' and a recommendation for the same has been submitted to the state government.

KMRL said that its managing director, Loknath Behra, has submitted a recommendation to the state government seeking its in-principle approval for the name change.

The move comes days after the state government issued a notification informing that the state's name has been officially changed to Keralam.

KMRL, in a statement, said that the name change was aimed at planning and implementing urban transport projects across the state, besides the metro services in Kochi.

Loknath Behera said, in the statement, that a city-centric name was not suitable for the company's current and future extensive operations, which include Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode metro projects, and that is why it was decided to use the new name -- Keralam Metro Rail.

KMRL's move also follows the examples of Nagpur Metro being renamed as 'Maharashtra Metro', Lucknow Metro as 'Uttar Pradesh Metro' and Ahmedabad Metro as 'Gujarat Metro', the statement said.

The state government needs to first approve the name change, following which the other steps, including approvals of the board of directors, shareholders, the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the central government, it said.

Behera clarified that the name change will not affect the current assets, liabilities, contracts, employees, or legal existence of the KMRL company, and that the branding and changes will be implemented using its own funds.