Published on 12:00 AM, September 26, 2010

India Games debacle could deter investors: Moody's

Shambolic preparations for India's Commonwealth Games "could tarnish" the country's allure as an investment destination, said a research arm of ratings giant Moody's Corp on Friday.
"Confidence in India's infrastructure, its capacity to organise large events, and its reputation as a tourist destination have all been brought into question," said Matt Robinson, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics.
The statements by Robinson in a research note came as New Delhi welcomed the first athletes to its crisis-hit Commonwealth Games and organisers raced against time to rescue the international sporting event.
The Commonwealth Games Federation signalled conditions were improving, but added that there was still work to do after the athletes' village was described as "uninhabitable" earlier in the week.
The Games, estimated to have cost India at least three billion dollars, were meant to showcase the emergence of a country with superpower ambitions.