Latest news with #VAO
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Former VAO gets seven years of RI in graft case
1 2 Madurai: The Madurai special court for cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act on Monday found a former village administrative officer (VAO) guilty of demanding and accepting a bribe for issuing a patta to a man in Madurai district in 2015. Judge R Barathiraja sentenced former Vadivelkarai VAO D Jeyabharathi to undergo seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of 2,000 on her. Manikandan, a resident of Vadivelkarai, approached Jeyabharathi in June 2015, seeking a patta for the house in which his mother was residing. Jeyabharathi demanded 1,000 as bribe for completing the task. Manikandan lodged a complaint with Madurai Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption officials in this regard. DVAC officials set up a trap and arrested Jeyabharathi red-handed when she received 1,000 from Manikandan.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unison Activates Its Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO) With Agentic AI
MCLEAN, Va., July 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unison, the leading provider of federal business process and acquisition software, today announced the release of agentic AI in its Virtual Acquisition Office (VAO), advancing how acquisition professionals interact with VAO's templates, insights, and guidance. These new agentic AI capabilities follow Unison's acquisition of the AI startup, Bidscale, earlier this year. VAO has long served as the trusted SaaS platform for the development of the federal acquisition workforce, delivering expert-created content and training. With agentic AI now at the center of the VAO experience, that expertise becomes actionable, generating acquisition documents, identifying relevant policy, and completing complex tasks with greater accuracy and less manual effort. With no AI expertise required, VAO users can quickly utilize agentic AI capabilities to shift focus to the mission and spend less time drafting. Available as a new offering to subscribers, VAO's agentic AI is designed to work seamlessly alongside its existing tools and content to: Generate compliant documents: Create Statements of Objectives (SOOs), Statements of Work (SOWs), Limited Source Justifications, and many more acquisition lifecycle documentation. Get the right policy guidance at the right time: Policies are suggested based on your role, your agency, and the document you're working on. Let templates do more of the work: Work directly within context-aware templates that apply agency rules and standards automatically. Stay ahead of the process: Get proactive guidance on what's required next, so you're not waiting for checklists or chasing approvals. "This step moves Unison's VAO from a trusted reference to a dynamic part of the acquisition lifecycle," said Reid Jackson, CEO of Unison. "It's the difference between reading acquisition guidance and watching that guidance take shape in real time." A recent Federal News Network article highlighted the growing demand for AI that does more than automate routine steps. As the article notes, agentic AI offers a viable path toward reducing workload by completing acquisition tasks and helping agencies meet growing demands with limited staff. Last year, Unison introduced its generative AI tool, Ally, within VAO. Since then, Ally has been used by more than 72 federal agencies, answering over 60,000 questions. These new agentic AI capabilities build on that momentum, expanding the impact of Unison's AI across the federal government. For more information or to schedule a walkthrough, visit or email the company at ai@ About Unison Unison's products power the business of government to work smoother and smarter. Trusted by over 200,000 federal employees and government contractors, Unison's software, domain expertise, and federal focus drive efficiency, transparency, and compliance. The company's AI-infused technology is designed to simplify complex business processes and acquisitions. From contracting to budgeting, cost engineering, and program management, Unison's products reach every corner of federal business. To learn more about Unison, please visit View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Unison
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
‘Introduce Act to protect revenue employees, surveyors and VAOs'
A delegation comprising State coordinators representing the Federation of Revenue Employees Association (FERA) met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Chennai and demanded the government to introduce an Act which would protect the revenue employees, land surveyors and village administrative officers (VAO)s while discharging their duties. In a press release issued here on Saturday, M.P. Murugaiyan, one among the coordinators, said that the employees faced not only challenges in fulfilling the government's programmes for the benefit of the needy people, but also received threats and abusive words at times, while at their work. In a bid to give a morale support to the employees on the ground, the government should introduce a Bill in the Assembly and bring the Act which would discourage the people from indulging in threats against the government employees. The FERA sought filling up of vacancies in government departments comprising revenue, disaster management, survey among others. The human resources shortage had to be addressed at the earliest, as the revenue department played a pivotal role in taking the government's schemes and programmes to the masses. The senior officers in the revenue administration should give an ample time to the staff members to take the schemes to the people. Within a short notice, the government expected the schemes to be implemented and with a huge shortage, it was humanly impossible to execute the works. Mr. Stalin, the memorandum said, should understand the plight of the revenue officials and fill vacancies. The government has been encouraging contract/temporary basis appointments. This should be dropped and all the recruitments should be only on permanent basis. Terms like outsourcing and introducing private sector or private agencies in the revenue department would be a risky proposition to the government. The FERA members recalled the successful implementation of the KMUT (Kalaingnar Mahalir Urimai Thittam) to over 1 crore women beneficiaries in the State within a record time from the announcement. The sustained work by the revenue department round the clock was the reason for taking it to the people in a short notice. The FERA appealed to the CM to declare July 1 as Revenue Department Day and suggested it to be celebrated every year. The delegation included TNVAOMS State president A. Boopathy, TNVAOA general secretary C. Kumar, TNRVEA general secretary S. Ravi and TNSOU general secretary Anna Guberan and others, the release added.
Time of India
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BDS grads turn to govt service as VAOs in Haveri
HAVERI: Govt positions attract many graduates, particularly those with non-technical degrees who aim to crack competitive examinations. In Haveri, two BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) graduates took up positions as Village Administrative Officers (VAOs), a Group C govt post. Despite their qualifications, these graduates chose lower-level govt employment. Officials note that this trend reflects increased rural employment opportunities. The recruitment also includes more than 10 engineering and agriculture graduates as VAOs. The recent state-wide recruitment of 100 VAOs marked the first instance of entrance examinations for these positions, which require PUC qualification. In the Haveri district, of 31 total posts, over 15 highly qualified graduates received appointments. The revenue department expresses concern about these overqualified candidates' willingness to perform routine tasks associated with the role. This situation indicates limited job prospects, as qualified graduates pursue VAO positions. The state has not recruited dentists, engineers, or agriculture graduates in their respective fields recently. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nhà tiền chế 2025: Lựa chọn nhà ở giá cả phải chăng (Xem ngay) Nomad's Notebook Nhấp vào đây Undo Additionally, recruitment processes typically face disputes and take 4-5 years to conclude. "For all the above reasons, many highly qualified graduates like BDS, engineering graduates, and agriculture graduates were selected for the group C post as VAOs in the recent recruitment. They are talented; if they put in efforts, they will crack a class I post in the state govt like KAS in the future, but they are ready to join as VAO due to their financial condition to help their families," said Basavakumar Annigere, vice-principal, District Training Institute (DPAR), a subsidiary of ATI Mysuru. "I know I can practise as a dentist, but I want to serve in the govt sector, and we are strong aspirants for KAS. Unfortunately, none of the recruitments have been completed without controversy, and it takes at least a 6-7 years. It has become hard for us because we must help our families financially. I do not want to discriminate against any job, and I am not bothered about the low cadre. I need to survive in this society," said a BDS graduate who was selected for the VAO's post. He said he would continue his efforts to qualify for KAS in the future.
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Time of India
VAO arrested for accepting bribe of 4,500 in Krishnagiri
Krishnagiri: A village administrative officer (VAO) was arrested for accepting a bribe of Rs4,500 from a farmer seeking a succession certificate near Hosur here on Saturday. According to an official attached to the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), M Jayaraman, a farmer from Mariamman Kovil Street at Anchetty, approached Salivaram village administrative officer Lakshmikanthan on June 24 to obtain a succession certificate, as his father had passed away in 1999. "He submitted an application in this regard and visited the VAO again on Friday. The VAO asked him to pay Rs6,000 for issuing the succession certificate. Jayaraman paid him Rs1,500 and told him that the remaining amount would be paid after receiving the certificate," the official said. The same evening, Jayaraman lodged a complaint with the DVAC sleuths, who gave him chemical coated currency notes, asking him to hand over the same to the VAO the next day. "We caught the VAO today (Saturday) while accepting the bribe. We have registered a case against the VAO and further inquiry is on," the official said.
