NEW DELHI: Food minister K V Thomas on Friday said his ministry will take a time-bound decision on the Rangarajan panel's recommendation for decontrolling the sugar sector.

A panel, chaired by Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council chairman C Rangarajan, released a report on Friday recommending that major government controls on the sugar sector be done away with.

"The report has been submitted to the prime minister. We will take a time-bound decision once it is examined by the PMO and comes to us," Thomas told the media.

Pushing for reforms, the Rangarajan panel, which includes seven other experts, recommended that the government let mills sell their produce in the open market and stop purchase of sugar from industry at below market prices for ration shop supplies. At present, mills are obligated to supply 10% of their production at cheap rates to the government.

The committee, set up by the PM in January, advocated that mills share 70% of their revenue with sugarcane farmers but recommended against any ban on export-import.

Releasing the report, Rangarajan said, "There is a whole gamut of regulations related to the sugar sector... sugar is like any other commodity, there is no need to have controls. Levy sugar obligation and administrative control on non-levy sugar need to be dispensed with immediately."

Over a longer period of reform, the panel has advised doing away with cane area reservation and minimum distance criteria. It also pushed for removal of controls on by-products such as molasses.

Previous attempts to decontrol the sector fell through, the last one being in 2010.