The objective of this study was to develop an operational water security assessment framework for basin-scale analysis using an indicator-based methodology. Because operationalization of water security enhancement will require a bottom-up approach, the study considered basin-scale analysis instead of the traditional national-scale analyses. The DPSIR (Driving Forces-Pressures-State-Impact-Response) framework was used to identify the pertinent driving forces, corresponding dimensions and indicators of water security that are applicable at a basin scale. Furthermore, because the study aimed to operationalize water security, stakeholder meetings with public sector actors were conducted to consider their point of view in making the water assessment framework robust and implementable. As a result, five broad dimensions (measured by eight indicators) were fixed — water availability (which is a measure of how well the domestic, agricultural and industrial water demands are met); water productivity (which estimates the economic value of water used in the basin for revenue generating activities); watershed health (which emphasizes on the indirect factors such as land use, river health, environmental flows, etc., that will ultimately have a bearing on water security in the basin); water-induced disasters (which considers the effects of floods and droughts on the overall water security); and water governance (which sheds light on how well water is managed through policies and institutions).