A batch of the syrup contained ethylene glycol, which the ministry said was a toxic substance.It also said the syrup was given to children at home without a doctor’s prescription, either by their parents or on the advice of pharmacists, with doses that exceeded the standard dose for children.The Uzbek incident follows a similar one in The Gambia, where the deaths of at least 70 children were blamed on cough and cold syrups made by New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals.Both India’s government and the company have denied the medicines were at fault.India is known as the “pharmacy of the world” and its pharmaceuticals exports have more than doubled over the past decade to $24.5 billion in the past fiscal year."