The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is a premier scientific organization and technical body under the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Its primary objective is the scientific and sustainable development and management of India's vast groundwater resources. The CGWB was established in 1970, evolving from the Exploratory Tubewells Organization (ETO), which was formed in 1954 under the Ministry of Agriculture, to address the growing need for scientific assessment and conservation of groundwater.
The mechanism of the CGWB involves three key functions: assessment, monitoring, and policy support. For assessment, it maps aquifers and conducts periodic groundwater resource assessments to identify over-exploited and critical areas. For monitoring, it operates a network of over 25,000 observation wells across the country to track groundwater levels and quality through physical, chemical, and biological testing. The CGWB also formulates model groundwater regulations and provides scientific input to the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), which was constituted in 1997 under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for the regulation and control of groundwater development.
The CGWB connects to national initiatives like the National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM), the Jal Shakti Abhiyan, and the Atal Bhujal Yojana. Recently, the CGWB's 2023 assessment, conducted with state agencies, showed a decline in the overall stage of groundwater extraction from 63.33% in 2017 to 59.26% in 2023, with over-exploited units decreasing from 17% to 11%. The organization also issues guidelines on artificial recharge to prevent groundwater contamination.