I am from British Columbia and camping is a very popular activity. Sleeping on a hard floor is not a problem at all. Sure most would probably prefer a mattress and some padding but even with limited gear usually one could at least roll up a t-shirt or a sweater and tuck that under your neck and head and get comfortable on a hard floor.

But unlike India British Columbia is a completely different climate. We can go from very comfortable sunny warm days to very cold nights. The last time I went camping it was May and the days were nice but the night dropped down to like 5c. I have teens and told them all to pack lots of warm clothes, told them it will be cold at night, made them bring extra blankets. But in the end they still did not have enough and in the middle of the night were so cold. So I gave them 2 of my blankets and some of my clothing. This left me absolutely freezing. I had to finally get up at 1am and make a fire. I struggled to warm up and even had to go start my car and put on the heat for a bit. I put a large rock on the fire and got it hot. I put the rock into a cast iron pan I brought and put it onto a couple sticks in my tent so it would not burn the floor. I had to keep that rock close to me all night and I still was cold and miserable.

So yes on a warm night, and we have those here in BC, a pad is not essential at all. But for the other 10 months of the year if you don't have the right gear you will be cold and miserable. Being directly on the ground is like sleeping on a cold water bed (yes I am that old). It feels refreshing at first but then you fall asleep and wake up with your core temperature stolen and cold.