India, the third-largest owner of large dams, faces increasing safety challenges as a significant percentage of its dams age beyond 50 years, impacting structural integrity and stability. A comprehensive seismic safety assessment of concrete gravity dams with updated criteria is the need of hour. As well it must account for material degradation, foundation properties, site-specific seismic parameters, and dam–reservoir–foundation interactions. Given the large number of dams requiring evaluation, a full-scale analysis of each structure is not feasible at once. This study, therefore, gives an outline for a large-scale preliminary finite element (FE) approach to assess the stability of concrete gravity dams. By analysing a typical non-overflow (NOF) section with a fixed base under combined gravity, hydrostatic, hydrodynamic, and updated seismic loads (time histories), the study provides essential insights into dam stability. These preliminary results enable prioritization for in-depth analyses, serving as a foundation for future, detailed studies. The findings also support proactive safety planning to mitigate risks associated with India’s ageing dam infrastructure.