Further, we applied equi-biaxial strain within the harmonic range to understand the electronic response. The bandgap increases (decreases) monotonically with compressive (tensile) strain (Fig. ). The values of bandgap with different strains are illustrated in Fig. . Interestingly, at or beyond 2% compressive strain, the equilibrium bandgap shifts from direct to indirect. The shift is the largest when compressive strain reaches 6%. The bandgap becomes 1.97 eV from 1.77 eV at this compressive strain. On the other hand, the bandgap reaches to 1.68 eV from 1.77 eV at the same value of tensile strain. This increment is 6.2% from the strain-free bandgap while the increment is 11.2% with compressive strain, which is twice the decreasing rate. Unlike the tensile strain, the direct bandgap has not shifted too noticeably in the compressive strain. Additionally, the VBM and CBM become constant after 4% tensile strain indicating the consistency in the bandgap. However, the VBM gradually shifts toward the Fermi-level with an increase in tensile strain. It is worth mentioning that a similar result of band tailoring is reported in a very recent study . Further, the change of bandgap is illustrated from the total density of states (TDOS) at the same regime of strain (Fig. ). The highest energy states shift toward the Fermi level reducing the bandgap. The change in bandgap is attributed to the degree of repulsion of electrons in atomic orbitals and delocalization effect due to the applied strain .