  We have investigated the band structure of the bulk crystal and the (001)
surface of the \beta-InTe layered crystal subjected to biaxial stretching in
the layer plane. The calculation has been carried out using the full-potential
linearized augmented plane wave method (FP LAPW) implemented in WIEN2k. It has
been shown that at the strain \Deltaa/a=0.06, where a is the lattice parameter
in the layer plane, the band gap in the electronic spectrum collapses. With
further strain increase a band inversion occurs. The inclusion of the
spin-orbit interaction reopens the gap in the electronic spectrum of a bulk
crystal, and our calculations show that the spectrum of the surface states has
the form of a Dirac cone, typical for topological insulators.
