The evidence points to option A, One-fourth. Chauth literally denoted one-fourth and was claimed by Maratha power from territories in return for restraint from raids or for protection arrangements. Maratha state formation joined forts, mobile warfare, ministerial offices and fiscal claims over territories inside and outside the core kingdom. The distractors need separate rejection: One-third belongs to a different institution, context or chronology; One-half does not perform the function described in the stem; and One-tenth fails the required association. The wording of “Chauth, in Maratha fiscal practice, normally represented what share of assessed revenue?” is deliberately specific, so the candidate should isolate its operative clue before recalling names. The fact is significant beyond one MCQ because it reveals how medieval institutions worked in practice and how historians classify the surviving evidence. — One-fourth”, but also remember the factual reason stated above.