India, Dec. 25 -- India will assume chairmanship of the UN-backed global forum Kimberley Process (KP) to prevent trade of conflict diamonds from January 1 for the third time, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said.

The minister focused on three key priorities during India's leadership: "Building consumer confidence in conflict-free diamonds; accelerating digital certification and traceability; and strengthening transparency and accountability across the supply chain."

KP represents 86 countries, including China, the UK, the EU, the US, and Russia.

India will advance data-driven, rule-based compliance, Goyal said on Thursday.

KP is an international certification scheme that regulates trade in rough diamonds and aims to ...