The Income Tax Department allows users to have a shortened version of their name to be printed on the PAN card. 

At the time of online PAN application, "last name" is not allowed to be an initial and it is common practice for individuals to expand their initials to meet this criteria while applying, but opt to have the short version printed on the PAN card. 

The response returned in our API fetches this value stored in the IT Department's records. These details can be confirmed manually by the individual by logging into the Income tax portal.