India's bridge collapse prior to Commonwealth Game 2010

One and a half month before Commonwealth Game 2010 was hosted in India, the bridge next to Jawaharial Nehru Stadium, the main venue for the Commonwealth Game, collapsed into three pieces. This only added up to the already bad conditions prior to the Game, such as security concern where two tourists have been shot outside Jama Masjid, the prevalent spread of dengue fever, and the traffic chaos. These unfavorable conditions to host the Game has caused some athletes to pull out of the competition.

I believe that India's poor preparation for the Commonwealth Game is correlated with the still-existing traces of extractive institution in Indian government. The practice of bribery is commonplace in India and this results in an ineffective allocation of resources. For example, looking specifically at the bridge collapse case, construction companies could bribe the government to take on the bridge building project and hence, the government may not choose the most decent company to take on this project. This might explain why the "costs are running 17 times the original estimates, and the government's anti-corruption watchdog has identified 16 projects with suspect financing." Unless the prevalence of graft could be reduced and minimized, it will be a great impediment to the creation of inclusive political and economic situation where individuals or companies can compete on equal footing.