Industry body, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) asked for lower interest rates in the range of 7 to 8 per cent for infrastructure projects in the country, blaming high lending rates a major cause of stagnation in the growth rate.

FICCI Chairman, Harsh Pati Singhania, while addressing the inauguration summit on infrastructure, said, "The rise in interest rates for project financing in the country have increased and are jeopardizing the financial viability of projects under the PPP mode."

Mr. Singhania asked for the need to revamp domestic debt market by developing appropriate mechanism for finance of infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, Kirit Parikh, a member of planning commission, asked to spend more on infrastructure projects, terming it as a top priority of government to stimulate economic growth.

He said that expensive finance and high risk factor as a major cause for disinterest of bidders in the various road projects. Mr. Parikh said, "Maybe 7-8 per cent rate (interest rate) at which people will be able to borrow and which will be a good stimulus."

CMD of India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFC), S. S. Kohli, said that the government should take steps to make land acquisition policy more people friendly, setting aside all legal land clearing hurdles faced by investors.