The Taiwanese manufacturing group Foxconn plans an aggressive expansion in India, building up to 12 new factories and employing as many as 1m workers by 2020, as it battles rising wage costs and labour disputes in China.

The move signals a shift in strategy for the technology company, which is mainland China’s biggest private-sector employer and is best known as the largest global contract manufacturer of Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices.

India has long hoped that its vast pool of cheap workers would see it become the world’s next manufacturing powerhouse after China, only to find its ambitions thwarted by poor infrastructure and complex labour regulations. But Foxconn said it saw “huge potential” to set up Chinese-style facilities in the country, providing a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” manufacturing drive.