How to check earthing using a Multimeter?

Many a time, we come across the term "ground" or "earthing" and we also wonder
if a particular electrical socket/receptacle is really "earthed" or "grounded". Before
we learn how to check if earthing is correct, let us learn a bit about grounding.
The term "ground" refers to a connection to the earth - a connection which
provides a conducting path to the earth which is independent of the normal currentcarrying path in an electrical appliance. In household electric circuits, it is
connected to the electrical neutral at the service panel to guarantee a low enough
resistance path to trip the circuit breaker in case of an electrical fault, thus
protecting us against electric shock.
Is the ground wire necessary? Absolutely!! The electrical appliance will operate
normally with or without the ground wire because it is not a part of the conducting
path which supplies electricity to the appliance. In fact, if the ground wire is
broken or removed, we can hardly tell the difference. But in a situation where high
voltage comes in contact with the case, the circuit breaker will not trip thus may
lead to an electric shock. Part of the role of the ground wire is to force the breaker
to trip by supplying a path to ground when such a situation arises.
Here is a pic of an Indian electrical socket/receptacle. Note that the hole in the
center is earth, the hole(s) on the left is neutral and the hole(s) on the right are
phase. Phase is +ve and this is the terminal on which a switch is usually installed.

To check if an electrical socket is grounded, we will need a multimeter (available

for ~Rs.600 in your electronics market).
Step 1: Set the multimeter knob to 750V AC and connect the probes as shown in
pic - red probe into phase and black probe into neutral. Since the switch is off,
reading shows zero.

Step 2: Then, turn on the switch and measure the voltage across Phase and Neutral.
It reads 240V.

Step 3: Measure by inserting the black test probe in earth and red test probe in
phase. It reads 243V.

Step 4: Next, measure by inserting the red probe in earth and black probe in
neutral. It should not read more than 2V. In my case, it reads 1V.

Step 5: Calculate the voltage difference between Step 3 and Step 2 i.e., 243V 240V = 3V
Step 6: Calculate the voltage difference between Step 5 and Step 4 i.e., 3V - 1V =
2V. (1v to 2V is an acceptable value)
Please note that this is just to test if an earthing circuit exists. In order to measure
the actual earthing resistance, you would need an Earth Resistance Tester.