Overview
- The state Cabinet decided on Friday, September 18, 2026, to grant Tulu additional administrative status limited to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar announced after the Mangaluru meeting.
- District administrations in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi will implement the change and the government has allocated ₹82 lakh a year for translation, training and other language-use costs.
- The recognition allows use of Tulu in local-body meetings, government circulars and in submissions to departments, but it does not add Tulu to the Constitution’s Eighth Schedule.
- The Cabinet also issued a draft notification to invite public opinion for one month on renaming Dakshina Kannada as Mangaluru and approved a coastal and rural development package worth about ₹32,611 crore including a medical college, tourism and fisheries initiatives.
- The decision follows years of demands and earlier committee reviews and is likely to require hiring translators, changing official forms and retraining staff while carrying political weight in the coastal region.