How to Pursue research in Gap year

Hello !
I am currently in my final year of B.E. ( from NSIT, New Delhi ) (ECE).
I am undecided on whether I should apply for Fall 2018 or Fall 2019 as I personally feel for Fall 2018 I don't have enough time to research and shortlist universities, write a decent SOP, give GRE and TOEFL and score high along with attending college and pursuing projects.
So, if I decide to take a gap year, I would like to pursue research in either VLSI or Embedded Electronics. This will help me to a) strengthen my profile and b) to help me decide on my major as I like both the mentioned fields but don't have a lot of experience in either.
I know a lot of people pursue Research Internships. I don't know of anyone who has done it in a gap year.
So that's my main question.
How do I apply for such internships? How much effect would they actually have on my profile?
Ideally, I would like to pursue research at an IIT but what other institutes can be beneficial?
I am currently doing a research-based project in Analog Electronics so I have some background if that is helpful.
Thank you :)