US president Barack Obama endorsed India's bid to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, hoping to elevate the nation of a billion people to "its rightful place in the world" alongside an assertive China.

The United Nations General Assembly opens a new chapter today in its nearly 30-year effort to reform the UN Security Council, plagued by national and regional rivalries that show no sign of abating.

The 35-page final document that world leaders are set to adopt at the end of a UN summit devotes just one paragraph to the issue that consumed the 191 UN member states for months but proved so divisive that it had to be shelved - expanding the powerful Security Council.

African leaders are sticking with their demand for two veto-wielding permanent seats on the UN Security Council, rejecting a compromise some had hoped would ensure the success of proposed UN reforms.