NEW DELHI, July 24 Reuters India is likely to ease restrictions on Chinese investment in nonsensitive sectors like solar panels and battery manufacturing where New Delhi lacks expertise and which hinders domestic manufacturing, two government sources said.

In 2020, India tightened scrutiny on investments from companies based in China due to military tensions in the remote Himalayan border.

The government is planning to free up sectors from government scrutiny that it deems less sensitive from a security point of view for Chinese investment, said one of the officials, who did not want to named.

The plans mark a first step in improving economic ties between the two neighbors, a relationship that worsened after border clashes in 2020.

The official said restrictions on Chinese investments in sectors such as electronics and telecom would continue.

The prime minister39;s office, foreign, finance, home and trade ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Reporting by Nikunj Ohri, Manoj Kumar and Sarita Chaganti Singh in New Delhi; Editing by Bernadette Baum

Source Reuters