How should the introduction of income tax and increase in customs duties during wartime be understood?

Correct answer: A measure by the colonial government to meet war expenses

The governing concept is wartime colonial taxation. The First World War sharply increased government expenditure, so the colonial administration introduced income tax and raised customs duties to collect additional revenue. These measures helped finance the war but transferred its cost to people in India. Option A is correct. The other choices are incorrect because taxation did not grant industrial freedom, provide peasant relief or announce self-rule.