  We consider a cosmological inflation scenario based on a no-scale
supergravity sector with $U(1)_R$ symmetry. It is shown that a tree level
$U(1)_R$ symmetric superpotential alone does not lead to a slowly rolling
scalar potential. A deformation of this tree level superpotential by including
an explicit $R$ symmetry breaking term beyond the renomalizable level is
proposed. The resulting potential is found to be similar (but not exactly the
same) to the one in Starobinsky inflation model. We emphasize that for
successful inflation, with the scalar spectral index $n_s \sim 0.96$ and the
tensor-to-scalar ratio $r < 0.08$, a correlation between the mass parameters in
the superpotential and the vacuum expectation value of the modulus field $T$ in
the K\"ahler potential must be adopted.
