Regarding the taxation system of Krishna Deva, the ruler of Vijayanagar, consider the following statements: 1. The tax rate on land was fixed depending on the quality of the land. 2. Private owners of workshops paid an industries tax. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is C, because both statements describe the Vijayanagara fiscal system under Krishnadevaraya accurately.

Statement 1 is correct. Land revenue was not a flat rate. It was graded according to the quality of the soil, with fertile, irrigated land assessed higher than dry or poor land. Land revenue formed the bulk of state income, and the Portuguese travellers Domingo Paes and Barbosa describe these differentiated assessments in their accounts of the empire.

Statement 2 is also correct. Private owners of workshops and craft units paid an industries tax to the state, which was one source of non-agrarian revenue. Along with customs duties, tolls and trade taxes, this shows that the state taxed production as well as agriculture.

Core concept: the revenue structure of medieval South Indian kingdoms, where agrarian revenue dominated but urban crafts and trade were also taxed. For Mains, this links to the debate on the nature of the medieval state economy and the role of trade and urban production.

Trap: candidates often assume the land tax was a uniform share and reject statement 1, or assume only agriculture was taxed and reject statement 2. Both features are standard in the sources on Vijayanagara.