The Ryotwari experiment in land revenue was started by

The Ryotwari experiment in land revenue was first initiated by Captain Alexander Reed (also spelled Read) in 1792 in the Baramahal region of the Madras Presidency following the Third Mysore War. While Sir Thomas Munro is widely credited with the large-scale implementation and formalization of the system across the Madras and Bombay Presidencies in 1820, he originally served as an administrator under Reed, where they developed the system's core principles [2]. The system established a direct settlement between the British government and the individual cultivators (ryots), eliminating intermediaries like zamindars [1]. It was theoretically grounded in David Ricardo's scientific rent theory, which suggested the state should claim the economic surplus of the land [2]. Mountstuart Elphinstone later extended this system to the Bombay Presidency after 1818, following the model established by Reed and Munro.

Sources

1. [1] Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 5: Land Reforms > Ryotwari Settlement: > p. 191
2. [2] Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 10: Land Reforms in India > II. Ryotwari System > p. 337