The licences of 176 retailers and 39 wholesalers have been cancelled across Maharashtra over the sale of substandard medicines, Food and Drug Administration Minister Narahari Zirwal informed the state assembly on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a question raised by BJP MLA Amit Satam and others, Zirwal said that as part of a special FDA campaign, samples of cough syrup and other medicines were sent for testing and analysis, news agency PTI reported.