Last month, the Union Cabinet approved modifications to India's foreign investment regulatory framework on cross-border investments originating from land-bordering countries (LBCs) with India. This amendment to 'Press Note 3' (PN3), originally introduced in April 2020 during the pandemic to curb opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies - triggered in part by People's Bank of China increasing its stake in HDFC Bank - marks a cautious but important shift in India's approach to foreign investment from LBCS, particularly China. While justified at the time, the blanket approval requirement significantly constrained investment flows.