Question

The Ryotwari Settlement was introduced by the British in the ___________.
(A) Bengal Presidency
(B) Madras Presidency
(C) Bombay Presidency
(D) Madras & Bombay Presidencies

Answer 1

Hint: The Ryotwari system is the land taxation system of British India. It was introduced by Thomas Munro in 1820 under the system managed by Captain Alexander Reid in the Bilaminar region.

Complete answer:
Ryotwari Settlement: The Ryotwari system is one of the three main collection methods in British India. It is very common in most areas of southern India and is the standard system of the Madras Presidential Palace (this is a British controlled area and now constitutes most of the present-day Tamil Nadu and parts of neighboring countries).
The system was designed by Alexander Read and Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Munroe and was introduced by the Governor of Madras (now Chennai) (1820-27) at the end of the 18th century. The principle is that government personnel collect land income directly from each farmer. To this end, all land is measured and evaluated according to the potential of crops and actual planting conditions.
 The advantage of this system is that it eliminates middlemen who often oppress villagers and imposes taxes on actually cultivated land (not just occupied land). What offsets these advantages is the cost of detailed measurement and separate collection. The system also empowers lower-level tax officials, whose activities are not adequately monitored.

Thus, the option (D) is correct.

Note: The characteristic of designated or related land ownership in India is the direct settlement between the government and cultivators without the intervention of zamindar or landlords. In the Ryotwari system, ownership is transferred to farmers. The British government levies taxes directly on farmers.