RBI chief Raghuram Rajan to stand down in September

By Devidutta Tripathy and Suvashree Choudhury

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Saturday he will leave the central bank when his term ends on Sept. 4 and plans to return to academia.

Rajan, a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has been popular with foreign investors who cheered his efforts to lower Indian inflation and clean up Indian state-run banks' massive bad loans.

"I am an academic and I have always made it clear that my ultimate home is in the realm of ideas," Rajan said in a message to central bank staff, which the RBI posted on its website.

Rajan, who is on leave from the University of Chicago, has also faced opposition from some politicians for not lowering interest rates enough, raising concerns about his future.

"While all of what we laid out on that first day is done, two subsequent developments are yet to be completed," Rajan, who took office in September 2013, said in his message, referring to a planned monetary policy committee and the bank clean up.

"While I was open to seeing these developments through, on due reflection, and after consultation with the government, I want to share with you that I will be returning to academia when my term as Governor ends," he added.

(Editing by Alexander Smith)