The R&D approach from the IIT's is a good one, but India, being India, I really wonder how much of that price tag is paying for the political "incentives."
I am a bit skeptical about the advertised price tag of $30. Last time when they released a $30 computing device(in 2009, see http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/indias-10-lapto/ ) it was just a glorified box with 2GB memory. I wonder how they managed to put a touch screen and a functional OS without increasing the cost by even a single dollar.
Anyways this is a big step towards lowering the cost of computing devices.
They're putting the reputation of India's best engineering schools on the line, so it can't be far from $30.