  Recently it was found that a broad class of existing inflationary models
based on supergravity can be significantly simplified if some of the standard,
unconstrained chiral superfields are replaced by nilpotent superfields,
associated with Volkov-Akulov supersymmetry. The same method allows to simplify
the existing models of uplifting of AdS vacua in string theory. In this paper
we will show that one can go well beyond simplifying the models that already
exist. We will propose a broad class of new models of chaotic inflation based
on supergravity with nilpotent superfields, which simultaneously incorporate
both inflation and uplifting. They provide a simple unified description of
inflation and the present acceleration of the universe in the supergravity
context.
