The Atal Bhujal Yojana (also called Atal Jal) is a centrally sponsored, World Bank–assisted groundwater management scheme. It was launched on 25 December 2019 (to coincide with the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee) and began implementation in 2020–21. Its core aim is demand-side, community-led management of groundwater in areas where aquifers are over-exploited or water-stressed.

The scheme covers seven states: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. These states were selected because they contain a large share of India's critically over-exploited and water-stressed groundwater blocks.

Key features that explain why 'seven' is correct — the number reflects the specific set of high-priority, groundwater-stressed states identified for the pilot, not a round figure:

• It works at the Gram Panchayat level, encouraging villages to prepare Water Security Plans and manage groundwater collectively.
• It emphasises convergence of various water-related central and state schemes and improved data monitoring.
• It had an outlay of roughly ₹6,000 crore over five years (2020–25), funded equally by the World Bank and the Government of India.

Therefore the figures ten, five, and eight are incorrect; the scheme was designed for exactly seven identified water-stressed states.