Thiruvananthapuram, May 1 : President Pratibha Patil today complimented Kerala for the investments it had made in the education and health sector over the years that helped in becoming an enlightened state with a very talented human resource base.

Patil inaugurated the birth centenary celebrations of former Chief Minister and Congress leader of the state, the late R. Sankar. Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy, former Chief Minister K. Karunakaran and KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala attended the function.

While urging the state to focus on the national agenda of ‘inclusive growth’- the economic growth as well as the social sector growth, Patil said: "I am confident that the future of Kerala is bright. It has all the ingredients necessary for making progress in the field of IT, high technology areas and other services."

She also commended Kerala's record in reducing gender disparity and encouraged that empowerment of women be made a main policy plank in all the states.

Describing Sankar as a towering political leader, a multi-faceted personality and a great statesman, Patil said he was among the noble sons of Kerala who played a key role in transforming it into a modern state, taking forward the fight against social injustices initiated by great reformers like Sree Narayana Guru.

On a two-day visit to the state, Patil visited the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple here. She attended the valedictory function of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. (ANI)