44-day-old Akshithaa is youngest PAN card holder

Permanent Account Number (PAN) card holders are getting younger and younger by the day.
Till a few weeks ago, the youngest PAN card holder was Mumbai's 56-day- old Krishhey Sameer Thacker. But his record has been upstaged by Chennai's R B Akshithaa, who got a PAN card in her name when she was just 44 days old.

Akshithaa's father, 35-year-old Shanmukham Balamurugan, is an electrical technician working at the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur in Chennai. Akshithaa was born on June 20, 2007 and just a few days later, Balamurugan decided to invest some money in her name -- "for her education and a secure future."

He felt is was wiser to invest in mutual funds for better results, but was told that the infant will need to have a PAN if he had to invest money in mutual funds in her name.

"So, I decided to apply for a PAN card in her name. That was on the July 21. And I got the card in my daughter's name on the August 3," said Balamurugan.

Yes, he was aware of a two-month-old baby holding the record as the youngest PAN card holder. "I had seen his name and picture in Dina Thanthi. But when I applied for a PAN card for my daughter, the record was not in my mind at all. My only intention was to give a secure future for my daughter, which is a good education."

Once he realised that Akshithaa holds the record, he called Dina Thanthi and told them about it. Once the news item appeared in the newspaper, there has been a flow of television channels and newspapers to their modest house.