The device, developed in collaboration with the bio-engineering centre at John Hopkins, has been designed to convert mobile phones of health workers into a 'prick-free' system for detecting anaemia at the community level.

India has reduced the maternal mortality ratio to 254 for every 100,000 births during the past decade though any preventable maternal death is one too many.

According to federation president Hema Divakar, maternal death is a serious concern and the direct causes were haemorrhage (38 percent), sepsis (11 percent), hypertensive disorders (five percent) and abortion (eight percent), a category that can include indirect causes such as anaemia.

"In the labour room, we are always fighting to save two lives - mother and baby. With our population growing exponentially, technology plays a vital role in ensuring quality healthcare services," Divakar observed.

The federation has also launched a fast track initiative - 'Helping Mothers Survive' (HMS) - to reduce the maternal mortality ratio.

The three-day congress of the specialist doctors deliberated on women's health-related such as infertility management, challenges in setting up low-cost fertile centre, scarless surgery, infertility practices and high-risk pregnancy.

With 219 member societies and about 27,000 members from across the country, the 63-year-old federation is the largest apex body representing practitioners of obstetrics and gynaecology across the country.