Why is image more important then financial literacy in India?

For a lot of people, we know to keep your expenses low, save money, live below your means etc. What I don’t hear much is advocating for true financial literacy. Setting up an emergency fund, parking money in high interest savings accounts, aggressively investing when you are younger to take advantage of compounding growth, managing tax liability etc. I guess the literacy issue can be the same in any country but in India, I feel the money earned is saved followed by being spent to have the nice apartment or home, nice car, nice jewelry etc. I’m talking about truly building wealth and maintaining it properly. I feel the mindset is a bit different because if I compare myself to my parents, I take the next step to build wealth vs my parents who have been extremely risk averse.