India will break up its debt-burdened carrier into 4 separate companies and offer to sell at least 51% in each of them as part of a disinvestment proposed by prime minister Narendra Modi. The core airline business comprising Air India and Air India Express will be offered as one company, and the process will be completed by the end of 2018, junior aviation minister Jayant Sinha said Monday. Its regional arm, ground handling, and engineering operations will also be sold separately in the same process. A successful sale of Air India -- with US$7.9b in debt, 5 subsidiaries and a joint venture, and a combined workforce of 27,000 -- is crucial for Modi, who wants to showcase his credentials as a reformist attempting to steer the state away from running businesses. <br/>