India, April 30 -- A Bengaluru professor has made a case for taxing the IPL, saying the billions generated by the cricketing extravaganza could be redirected to fund research and innovation in India. Professor Mayank Shrivastava of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru shared a thought-provoking LinkedIn post questioning why entertainment is subsidised in India while research is taxed.

Shrivastava noted that the IPL earned a record Rs.5,120 crore surplus in 2023, with total income touching a staggering Rs.11,770 crore. Despite this, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not pay any tax, as it enjoys tax exemptions under charitable status.

Meanwhile, research institutes in India pay tax on everything from lab eq...