Stressing the dignity of labour, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani Tuesday told a conference of state education ministers here that she had washed utensils 15 years back at a hotel in Mumbai.

She referred to Prime Minister's Narendra Modi's emphasis on giving importance to skills and said no one should feel inferior on being a plumber or a mechanic.

"Our credit framework empahsises this that if you want to become a plumber, carpenter or a mechanic, there is no shame in this. Being a minister, I feel proud that nearly 15 years ago, I have washed utensils at a Mumbai hotel. This does not bother because this county is a country of aspirations," she said.

Referring to the 'Make in India' initiative, she said that industry was keen that a "skilled India" should be built first.

"If we have to have a skilled India, dignity of labour is an important aspect. And the labour also gets the dignity when the society gives it," she said.