The government's proposal to decontrol sugar in a phased manner seems just another half-hearted bid to liberalise this sector without lifting all curbs and regulations. The note referred by the food ministry to the Cabinet for approval talks of two-pronged liberalisation: doing away with the mandatory 10 per cent levy on sugar production to meet the needs of the public distribution system (PDS) and dismantling the monthly sugar release mechanism, which regulates the quantity of sugar that the factories can sell in the open market. However, other restrictions on this sector are sought to be retained. The proposals for liberalisation are welcome but nagging doubts remain on the fate of the system of setting the statutory minimum prices (SMP) and its more contentious version