The Governor-General who adopted the policy of 'Paramountcy', under which the Company claimed supreme authority over the Indian states, was:

Lord Hastings (Francis Rawdon-Hastings, Marquess of Hastings), Governor-General from 1813 to 1823, adopted the policy of "Paramountcy", under which the Company claimed supreme authority over the Indian states.

NCERT on Paramountcy:

• NCERT notes that under Lord Hastings (Governor-General from 1813 to 1823), a new policy of "paramountcy" was initiated.
• Now the Company claimed that its authority was paramount or supreme; hence its power was greater than that of Indian states.
• In order to protect its interests, it was justified in annexing or threatening to annex any Indian kingdom.
• This view continued to guide later British policies as well.
• The policy was resisted by rulers such as Rani Channamma of Kittur.

About Lord Hastings:

He should not be confused with an earlier Governor-General of the same surname.

Important events of his time:

• The war with the Gurkhas of Nepal, in which the British gained hill areas.
• The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818), which ended the Maratha power; the office of Peshwa was abolished, and Baji Rao II was pensioned off.
• The suppression of the Pindaris, the bands of irregular horsemen who plundered central India (1817-1818).
• Many Rajput states accepted British protection.
• Singapore was founded by Stamford Raffles (1819).

Reforms:

• He relaxed press censorship, and the first Indian-language newspapers appeared.
• The Mahalwari system was introduced in north India (1822).

Result:

By the end of his rule, the Company had become the paramount power in India.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Cornwallis, Minto I and John Shore followed other policies.